Blue 32
by Joe DUDE
Summary: A collection of fics.
1. Smoke Gets In Your Eyes

**So you're probably wondering what this is all about. It's pretty simple, it'll be a collection of different stories. Each day, a new chapter will be added on. And as you already know, each chapter will be a different story (unless otherwise noted). And that's basically it. Enjoy.

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**Smoke Gets In Your Eye****s  
**_Matt__/his mother__, Pre-Series, PG,__ 521 __words, __Title f__rom __**Mad Men**_

--

_Light… Inhale… Savor… Exhale…_

The routine was basic. One Matt's mother was a pro at. Everyday, every 4 hours, she would stand outside the small house that belonged to her mother in-law, and smoke a cigarette. She started this routine at the age of 20, ironically, the same year she met a man named Henry Saracen. She noticed that he was tall, stern, had a deep heavy voice. Kinda like a robot. So it was no surprise to her when Henry said he was in the Army.

As she sat on the rusty garden chair on the front porch, she began to think about the reasons why she married Henry. And honestly couldn't think of any. Well, not anymore anyway. The longer he stayed with the Army, the more of a robot he became in her eyes. She was about to leave him when she got pregnant.

Matt was a good kid. Never caused much trouble for anyone. But the strain of taking care of him was too much for her to handle. Henry was never around, Joel was dead, and while Lorraine was a help, she constantly blabbered about this and that. It was a pain just listening to her talk, let alone live with her. And deep down inside, she thought Matt loved his grandmother more. So with careful and thoughtful consideration, she decided she needed to leave. Leave Henry for good, leave Dillon for good, and leave Matt with his grandmother. For good.

It was painful, but she thought it was for the best. She told Lorraine a few days beforehand what she was doing, and to not tell Matt, that he wouldn't understand. So Lorraine took Matt out shopping for the day. When they came back, she was gone. The only thing she left was divorce papers for Henry to sign when he returned home, and a picture of her and Matt. So that he would always remember who she was. Or wasn't.

--

She sends him a birthday card every year, with a personal note, and every year it always comes a day or two late (except two years ago when he never got one at all).

But at 17, Matt still doesn't understand why she left. Doesn't understand why she doesn't want to be in his life. Sometimes he believes he never will. Maybe it's good that he doesn't know the truth. Although, that doesn't change the fact that she left him. Doesn't change the fact that he lies awake at night and cries because he thinks his mother never loved him.

It doesn't change anything.

--

Matt gets pressured by some of the guys after a game to come and smoke with them and why he's never done it before. He jokingly tells them that its lame and he doesn't want to do it before leaving them behind. They always give him crap for it, but he doesn't care. If they knew the real reason why he doesn't smoke, then they wouldn't say anything. But he'll keep that bottled up inside, until maybe one day he can finally tell the person it'll matter to most.


	2. Bitter Sweets

**This one is Part Four of my Julie/Brett Weston fic. If you haven't read the first three parts then don't worry, because it goes a little something like this: Brett likes Julie. Julie likes Brett. Brett likes taking pictures. Julie likes that Brett is creative. They make-out a lot. They go to the Alamo Freeze and see Matt. Matt isn't happy. Now on to part 4!

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**Bitter Sweets  
**_Julie/Weston/Matt, (Not) Unlike Me__- Part Four, PG__13, 683__ words__, Title from __**Pushing Daisies**_

--

Matt looks at Brett and Julie, standing in front of him, holding each other's hands. He knows it's none of his business what they're doing and he's got something going for himself, but for right now, he's so pissed he could punch Brett in the mouth.

He watches Brett whisper in Julie's ear. She goes to sit down as he walks towards the register.

"Hey Matt," Brett says, like if they're good old pals. Matt tries his hardest not to laugh in his face.

"What do you want?"

Brett raises his eyebrows just a little bit. He's not exactly sure what's going on, and he doesn't want any trouble so he tells Matt he wants two rocket launchers to go and hightails it right the hell out of there when he finally gets them. Julie gives Matt an "I can't believe you just did that" look as she walks out with Brett.

Matt sleeps alone that night, trying to convince himself that he's not jealous that Brett has what he wants.

--

Matt spots Julie at her locker the next morning. He wants to forget about it all and just keep walking, but he needs to know what's going on between them and walks up to her.

They exchange their small hellos. It's awkward and they both know it. Julie knows something is up because Matt hasn't talked to her since that night after the football game where he basically told her to fuck off and never come back.

"So…" Matt starts off. "You and Brett…"

Julie laughs a little bit. It's not like she's surprised he brought this up. But it makes perfect sense either way.

"What are you mad that I was with him or something?" _Of course he is__. W__hat a stupid question to ask._

Matt tries to answer with something Julie knows will be a lie, so she keeps going because now she's all fired up.

"You know, I watched you and that Robot make out all the time, and I decided not to say anything, because it was none of my business. But then you see me with Brett and you get all pissed and act like some jock asshole. It's real pathetic. I hope you know that."

Matt tries his best to respond but Julie slammed her locker shut and walks off. The weird part is Matt agrees with everything she said.

--

Matt watches Brett closely at practice later that day. He notices how calm and collected he is standing on the sidelines. It makes him sick to his stomach. Matt tries to brush his feelings towards the side. Julie is right; it's pathetic that he feels like this. He doesn't understand why he's being so angry towards both of them. He has no right too. He should be happy for her. Brett is a good guy. He'll treat well.

Matt decides to apologize to Brett after practice. Brett isn't exactly sure what he's apologizing for (Julie hasn't told him about talking to Matt yet) but he'll take it either way.

--

"Well, today was pretty eventful," Brett tells Julie after a nice long make-out session in the back of his car.

"Odd is more like it."

"Yeah, that works too."

Julie sits up and fixes her hair. Odd was the order of the day. She liked Brett, but a little bit inside of her loved the fact that Matt still cared for her. Even if he had a bitter way of showing it. She knew she couldn't go back to Matt. That flame had fizzled out, that's for sure. Maybe she could try being his friend. She wasn't sure if that would work, but she had to at least try. She couldn't go any further than that.

"Hey."Julie takes herself out of the trance she's in when she hears Brett's voice. "You okay?"

The way he looked at her made her melt.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I am now."

Brett smiles and kisses her, getting rid of every worry Julie has at that very moment.

_Yep_, she thinks to herself, this _right here is pretty sweet_.


	3. Damage Control

**Damage Control  
**_Matt/Henry__ Saracen__, Pre-Series, P__G13, 662__ words, Title from __**Big Love**__, Companion to "Smoke Gets In Your Eyes"._

--

_Load… Aim… Shoot… Repeat_

Henry Saracen knew how to use a gun. Of course it came with the territory of being in the Army and being stationed in Iraq. You never knew when you had to use one, and you always had to be prepared for the unexpected. She was unexpected. And a hard catch to please. But they hit it off almost instantly, even with the catty "you remind me of a robot" remark she would always use. He was 22. She was 20. And the world was at their finger tips.

It was a few months later when they got married. And any kind of happiness they had being around each other disappeared. He was 23 and a soon-to-be father. Probably the only reason she stuck around and moved in with his parents (even though she _hated_ his mother).

He misses the birth of course, being stationed out in Missouri. Mom tells him Matthew Payton is the most beautiful boy she's ever seen. Henry smiles. He know he's gonna be a terrible father.

--

He misses everything. Matt's first words, the first time he walked on his own, the first time he threw a football and fell in love with the game. And when he's actually home to see him, Matt has to be reminded of who this tall strange man standing in front of him is. Now Henry really knows he's a terrible father.

--

It's no surprise when he finds out she filed for divorce. It's about damn time. But what really gets him is that she leaves Matt, and makes him Matt's only legal guardian. What kind of woman would just pack up her shit and leave her own child behind? No warning, no kiss goodbye, no nothing. He just hopes that it doesn't scar Matt for life. Hey, a guy can dream, right?

--

Matt's seventeen and he thinks he hates his father. Hates the man that he is, hates that he doesn't care, and hates that no matter what he does, it'll never be good enough. People try to tell him the opposite, especially Julie, and while he appreciates that she's cares enough about him to tell him that everything will be okay, he just wants to scream at her that she doesn't get it. That she doesn't know the pain he's been though, and that no, it won't be okay. But he realizes that it'll only make things worse and decides to keep his mouth shut.

--

Henry's proud of the man his son has become (he's more of a man then Henry will ever be, and they both know it). Henry talks about Matt to his unit every chance he gets. Whether it's about winning State, or how he has a girlfriend… it's all Matt, all the time. But he knows that no matter what he does or says, none of it is ever going to matter. It's never going to make up for never being around, it's never going to make up for refusing to listen to Matt's tearful pleads for him to come home and help him, and it damn sure will never make up for always treating Matt like crap when he never, ever deserved it.

--

Henry goes to sleep most nights thinking that his only son hates him. And hell, maybe he should. He may be in his son's life more than his mother has been, but that doesn't make his absence acceptable. At least she stayed away, didn't come back here and there to try and make things right, only for them to blow up in her face like it has with him.

He promises himself that next time will be different, but that might be one next time too late. The damage has already been done. And this isn't something that you can glue back together, hoping that it comes out good as new. This is one thing that may never be able to be fixed.


	4. Everyone's Waiting

**Everyone's Waiting**  
_Tyra, Season One, PG13, 591 words, Title from __**Six Feet Under**_

--

Everyone's waiting for Tyra to screw up. Doesn't matter what it's at, doesn't matter how hard she tries to make it right, she'll screw it up. It's only a matter of time. She's Tyra Collette for Christ sake; she isn't worth nothing but a good blow job and dirty looks towards girls she knows are better than her.

--

She knows people hate her. And while on the outside she's tough and nothing can bring her down, inside it tears her apart. She wishes people could see the real person that she is. That's she a smart, caring, beautiful girl who just wants to be loved and accepted just like anyone else. But the girls just look at her like she's a slut, and the boys think she's someone who they can easily get a good time from. They go hand-in-hand really. She ain't a slut though. Yeah, she's had her fair share of guys in the past, but Tim was screwing who he wanted, whenever he wanted. Who was to say she couldn't do the same? Payback's a real bitch.

--

Julie is the first person that sees Tyra for who she is. And Tyra knows it too. Why else would little Julie Taylor be interested in being friends with the biggest "slut" in town? It couldn't have dealt with raising her social status. Let's not forget, she was dating QB1 and was the coach's daughter. Girls would kill to be in her shoes (Tyra's especially jealous of what Julie has. She'll never admit it though). But no, Julie can see the real person inside.

She clings on to Julie, because for the first time in a long time, Tyra believes she actually has a real friend.

--

That Landry kid is pretty goofy, Tyra thinks. Yeah, she's pretty sure he's a little weird. It's so obvious that he wants to get in her pants too. But there's something about him that Tyra likes. She can't quite figure it out. But she finally got it the night at the Freeze as he held he hand and told her everything would be okay. He's much more than just a goofy kid.

--

Tyra isn't sure what to think of Mrs. Taylor. On one hand, she's nice and would help Tyra with whatever she needed. But on the other, Tyra always thought she was like everyone else. Someone who judged her by her past mistakes instead of who she is now, and who she really is inside. But when she found out Mrs. Taylor forbid Julie to hang out with her, she knew what kind of person she was. She let Mrs. Taylor have it too. And somewhere between the yelling, the cleaning, and the small little chats (she doesn't know exactly when though), Mrs. Taylor sees who Tyra is, and why Julie likes her so much. She tells Tyra to come to her office Monday morning. Tyra can't help but shed a smile. Who knew an argument would be the best thing that ever happened to her.

--

Now, everyone's waiting for Tyra to take the world on. Mrs. Taylor won't stop talking about college, Julie keeps throwing around career ideas, and Landry… well, he's Landry. Tyra's never sure what he'll do or say, but she can't picture him not around. The girls continue to give her dirty looks and the guys still look at her the same way, but she laughs at it now. Let them do what they want, Tyra is better than them, and now she finally knows it.


	5. Tastes Like A HoHo

**Tastes ****Like**** A Ho-Ho  
**_Matt/Julie, NC-17, 1478 words, Title from __**Damages**__, Also written for Porn Battle V (prompts: forgiveness and tequila), Co-written with my girl Rachel._

--

Julie's pretty sure it was between the 5th and 6th tequila shot with Tyra that she realized Matt was staring at her.

She's also pretty sure it was Matt pounding his dick into her about twenty minutes later, moaning her name as his lips sucked on her neck.

And as she watches Matt leave her on the bed, she's pretty sure she never felt like this before. And she likes it.

--

Julie sees Grandma walking around the neighborhood a few nights later and brings her home. Matt doesn't say much, but basically tells her that Carlotta is gone and he's back to square one. She feels bad, but doesn't know what to do. Then it hits her. She shuts Matt's bedroom door behind her and locks it. She gently gets Matt to lie down on his bed and to cover his face with his pillow. She slowly grabs the waist band of the gym shorts he's wearing, along with his boxers, and slides them down to his knees. She takes a hold of his shaft and starts sucking and licking. She can see Matt's stomach rise and fall like he's just gone through a million wind sprints, and his hand pressing the pillow more into his face. She takes it one step further and grinds her teeth against his skin. He comes hard and fast inside of her mouth and down her throat. She's pleased at herself and wipes her mouth off on one of Matt's shirt on the floor before pulling his shorts back up. She walks over to him as he takes the pillow off his face.

"I'll come back tomorrow?" she says.

Matt just nods his head yes. Julie leaves.

The next few weeks are much of the same. Julie comes over, they fuck each others brains out, she leaves. They don't hang out afterwards, don't talk in school, don't see anyone else.

It's better this way.

--

A few weeks later, Julie found herself once again knocking softly against the screen door of Matt's house. Matt appeared almost instantly, as usual. They didn't need to exchange pleasantries. They both knew the routine from top to bottom.

She walked inside and put her coat and bag on the couch. Same spot as always, as Matt walked into the bathroom. In Matt's room, she put her shoes near the door, before taking her jeans and shirt off. Nicely folding and laying them on Matt's desk.

Julie slowly sat on Matt's bed, and curled her knees up to her chest. For some strange reason today was different for her. She didn't take off her bra and pinch at her nipples to get herself going like she usually did, while Matt jerked off for a little, while he was in the bathroom. She didn't take her panties off either, but rather sat on the bed and waited for everything else to happen.

When Matt returned from the bathroom to his room, without any clothes on, Julie spent a few seconds just staring at him. Visions of the past began to flood her brain. The way he used to touch her, or kiss her or just be there next to her. She began to picture where they would be right now if everything had gone differently. If they were still a couple. If Swede or Carlotta or anyone else didn't get in the way. And when he sat on the bed and threw the sheets on top of them, running his hands along her neck, she came to the not-so-sudden realization. She wanted things back the way they were. Now more than ever. Even through the sex, Matt was still nice to her, she treated her good, but she didn't want it this way. And as Matt began to unhook her bra and suck her nipple, Julie began to freak.

"Matt…" she said, with a concerned voice. But Matt took it differently and began biting her nipple with force, moving and pressing his other hand down along her thigh.

"No… Matt… STOP…" she screamed, pushing him off of her and towards the other side of the bed.

He rolled onto his back, on the pillow besides her, and ran his hands over his face.

"What??" He snapped, looking Julie in the eyes. She didn't say anything back for a few moments. But sooner or later she had to break the silence.

"I think we should… talk."

A laugh escaped the back of his throat. He propped his elbows against the bed and sat up.

"Fine. Talk." He really wasn't in the mood for chatting. That wasn't what she was here for.

Julie attempted to look at him again, to try and get the feeling she got when he would walk into the room, or when he would whisper a thank you after a particularly long night. And when she looked back, she felt the courage rising within her and blurted out what she had been meaning to ask for weeks but could only somehow say now.

"What is it about me that makes you just want the sex and not the relationship?"

Without missing a beat, Matt retorted.

"What about us made you want to make out with Swedish guys in white vans while I was in love with you?"

His gaze didn't falter, and his eyes never unglazed.

"That's not fair," she said, bringing her chin to her knees and wrapping the sheets tightly around her. She wishes she didn't say that.

"I agree. It's not fair. It's not fucking fair you can throw me away like some used rag after what we had," he gestured, as the anger in his voice started to swell.

"It's not fair that the only way I can allow myself to love you is when we are fucking each other," he sat up even more, as every word he said (well, screamed really) made Julie feel smaller and smaller.

"And it's not fucking fair that even after everything that has happened, YOU never leave MY head! So, you're right Julie, NONE of this is fair!!"

Matt lay back down on the bed with a force, which made the mattress springs bounce slightly. Yet, again, all Julie could do was stare at Matt's obvious aggravation.

Slowly, she slid closer to him on the bed, although he didn't really notice. And while she processed what he had just said, the fact that he still loved her echoed through her otherwise numb and naked body.

She ran one finger gently along his arm, getting enough of his attention to actually look at her. And when he did, his eyes slowly let emotion seep though.

Julie slid down so her head was slightly resting against Matt's shoulder. Matt didn't flinch or say anything to get her to move, so she didn't. She wanted to kiss him like she used to, but so much needed to be said before anything else happened.

"You…. still love me?" she asked, quietly and slowly, like it was their secret, and no one else was allowed to know.

Matt slid his thumb along Julie's cheek as his legs entwined with hers, even though Matt's boner was pressing against her inner thigh (she tried to ignore that part as much as possible). He brought his lips as close to hers as possible, without actually touching them, and closed his eyes as their foreheads rubbed against each other. These were the moments he had been missing. That they have both been missing. And exactly the ones they needed.

"No matter what happens. Remember?"

Julie succumbed to the urge of wanting him, and leaned forward, kissing him with the passion and need she had been longing for. Although surprised by the urgent gesture, he returned the kisses she had to offer.

Matt turned his body so that he was lying on top of Julie, and ran his hands along every inch of her bare skin. He slid his upper body below the covers and kissed Julie in places she didn't know existed or could fill with some kind of sick sense of pleasure. The sensation was also new to Matt and filled him with a sweet appreciation of someone who loves him. The taste of it was memorizing. Her fingernails gripped the muscle along Matt's back as he slid her panties off and stuck two fingers inside of her, before removing and replacing them with his tongue.

Her toe-curling shouts only made him want her more, and were only partially satisfied by the hand jobs she returned to him. He couldn't take it any longer and quickly grabbed a condom from the closet and before long, they were together again, their bodies meeting and separating at the exact same time. He didn't take his eyes off her face. Their movements, although filled with vigor, were gentle, and left them both heaving for more air. And although it wasn't tequila induced, their first time, or even their best time, it was the only time they could ever say mattered.


	6. Owner of a Lonely Heart

**Owner Of A Lonely Heart  
**_Matt, Post-Who Do You Think You Are, PG13, 1054 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**__, Companion piece to both Smoke Gets In Your Eyes, and Damage Control_

Matt just stares at the letter that Carlotta gave him, trying his hardest not to let every emotion seep through. She left him. She packed up her shit and left the family behind. Matt isn't sure what caused her to leave. Did Grandma not matter to her? Did he and what they had not matter to her anymore?

Every person that Matt has ever loved has left him. The minute he really feels wanted, the minute he really feels loved back, he gets his heart broken. Over and over and over again. But yet he still believes that one day people will stick around for good. Or that maybe that certain someone who has left him will come back. He knows that it's all wishful thinking though. Doesn't even know why he bothers anymore. Why should he care when he knows no one else will?

--

He was always happy being around his mom when he was a kid. Even more so around his dad. But he was too young to understand that the love he had for both of them wasn't being returned in the way that it should have, in the way that a mother and father should love their son.

Matt began to notice his mother drift away from him when he was, say, ten and a half. The constant smoking and the pale, emotionless face she always had struck him as odd. He would always ask if she was okay and as always, she would say yes and tell him not to worry. So Matt didn't. Maybe she was having a bad day. There was always tomorrow.

And then one morning Grandma decided that is was a good day to go out shopping. Matt always liked going out of town and never ever saw the real reason why it was happening in the first place. As they entered their home later that night, Matt noticed that he couldn't find his mom anywhere. Grandma told him she went out for the night with her friends. And told him the next morning that she wasn't coming back. Matt didn't understand it of course, and still doesn't to this very day. Did she not care? Did she not love him anymore? He may never know.

The birthday card she sent him this year came about a week late. Matt threw it out.

--

As a kid, Matt loved that his father was in the Army. Loved that he let him wear his army hat and run around the house with it on. Although Matt never realized that it irritated his father. In some ways, you can say that he felt disrespected that his own son was running around the house with it on. Like he might ruin it forever and take the value it possessed away.

Matt began to learn that he father would come and go as he pleased. If he wanted to come home he would, if he didn't, well then he didn't. The more Matt pleaded, the more he would say no. And to be the man of the house. And just learn to live with it.

And when he does decide to come home and try to make things better, Matt lets him have it.

Once he leaves to go back to Iraq, they don't speak again for several months.

He knows his father doesn't care. He knows he never has and probably never will.

--

As long as Matt can remember, Grandma was always around. Whether she was making him cookies, bringing him to school, kissing him goodnight, or just being there to tell him everything would be alright, Grandma was there. Every single time.

But she isn't herself anymore. She isn't the person that Matt remembers. And Matt struggles every single day to help take care of her. To help her stay the way that she's always been. And while there may be some bits and pieces of her left, Matt knows in a few years that she won't even recognize him. And then she'll be gone. The person who has loved him more than anyone will be gone.

_Damnit._

_Damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit, damnit._

--

Matt noticed Julie the minute she walked into the Alamo Freeze a few days after she first moved to Dillon. Matt doesn't know who she is, but he knew what she ordered, and still does to this day (although he's way too embarrassed to ever admit it). A chocolate sundae with jimmies, whip cream and hot fudge, along with a milkshake. She smiles and says thank you before she leaves.

Her sees her a few weeks later and finally figures out who she is. She's the new coach's daughter. Matt feels his body shake. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. But Landry insisted. It was hard at first to really get her to notice him, but Matt had to keep trying. And after a while it worked.

She was different. She wasn't just some girl looking to get something out of dating the quarterback. She liked him for everything else. And soon loved him for everything else. And he loved her back just as much.

But he knew the minute she began working at the pool that things would go south. She rarely spent any time with him, and always flirted with that Swedish kid. Right in front of his face. It isn't long before they call it quits, and it isn't long before she wants him back. But you know what, shit doesn't work that way. You don't just fall in love with someone, leave them, and then a few weeks later decide you want them back again. Matt won't let his already broken heart get broken even more. He's angry at Julie for what she did, but more over what has happened to him in the past. And until Julie GETS that fact, he won't take her back.

--

Matt lies on his bed that night, after putting the note in a safe place. Hiding his face under his pillows so that he can let everything out. He doesn't know what he's going to do now.

Everything is back to being a struggle.

He's back to being the freak that no one loves. He's back to being able to disappear without anyone knowing or caring. He doesn't know if he's ever felt so alone. And he damn sure doesn't know if he'll be able to trust or love anyone ever again.


	7. Somebody To Love

**Somebody ****To**** Love  
**_Matt/Julie, Post-Series, PG13, 392 words, Title from __**30 Rock**_

Julie lies on her bed and looks at her hand, raised high in the air. She smiles. The diamond shines so brightly it might damn near blind her.

Matt moves towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her cheek. He looks up at her hand as well. It's the best decision he's ever made.

"You're staring," he says.

"How can I not?" she responds back.

They laugh silently for a second or two.

Matt turns his head to look at her face.

"I know how to pick 'em," he tells her, before kissing her again.

"You do."

She kisses him back.

--

Julie looks at herself in the mirror. It seems like everyday she gets bigger and bigger. It excites her, and scares her at the same time.

Matt walks up towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist and placing his hands on her stomach as he kisses her cheek.

"You're staring"

"How can I not?"

They laugh longer than a few seconds because they've had this same conversation a million times before.

"She's going to be beautiful," he says.

"She? I think he's going to be beautiful. Daddy's little quarterback." She laughs and rubs her stomach.

"I think Mommy's little cheerleader has a better ring to it."

She pinches his hand. "Never gonna happen."

"Yeah. That's – let's not go there."

"I agree."

They kiss.

--

Julie looks ahead of her and sees Matt. She smiles and grabs her father's arm. She walks down the aisle with the biggest smile on her face. Matt won't stop looking at her.

She walks up the steps and stands in front of Matt and takes him by the hands.

"You're staring," she says to him.

"How can I not?"

Instead of laughing they kiss.

"Hey, you two wanna wait until you're actually married to do that?" Landry screams out from the side. They each give him a look and go back to laughing.

--

Julie gives birth a few months later to a boy; Matthew Peyton Jr.

Matt lies next to Julie on the hospital bed that night as she holds her son in her arms. He has his eyes open.

"He's staring," Matt says.

Julie laughs. "Okay that's getting really old. You should think of something more original."

Matt laughs and kisses her cheek.

"This is why I love you."


	8. Look At The Princess

**Look At ****The**** Princess  
**_Julie, Season One, PG, 388 words, Title from __**Farscape**_

Everyone looks at Julie like she's the new princess of Dillon. They smile at her, wave, try to make polite conversation because they don't want to offend the coach's daughter.

And Julie can't stand it.

It's not bad enough that she has to have the coach of the football team as her father, but she has to deal with people sucking up to her, wanting to be her friend just so they look cool. It happens every time she moves to a new town. And Dillon has been no different. Actually, it's been worse. They look at her dad like he's some Kings of Kings. It's sickening really.

People look at her at school, and whisper things when she walks by. She doesn't know if they're good or bad and she doesn't want to know. She wishes she could be a normal teenage girl. Maybe in Seattle or somewhere in Florida. But she knows it's never going to happen.

--

Julie tries to ignore Matt whenever she can. He's just a dumb jock who wants to get with her. Then he throws her that Jackson Pollock line. It makes no sense to her, but damn, she's pretty impressed.

After a while she wants to spend as much time with Matt as possible. There's something about him that makes him different. He doesn't suck up to her, isn't nice to her because of who her dad is, he's just Matt. That's just how he is.

--

Matt makes fun of her feet because of how big her toes are. Julie tells him it's because she's royalty (it's something her dad told her way back when and it's always stuck). Matt calls her "The Royal Duchess of Dillon". Julie wants to correct him, but on second thought, she really rather not. Duchess has a nice ring to it and Matt will only make fun of her for it.

She gets home way late that night and in her frantic search to find her keys Matt tells her that he loves her. Just comes right out and says it. Like he'll do it everyday for the rest of his life.

Julie says it back and walks towards her house with the biggest smile on her face.

She may be "The Royal Duchess of Dillon" but she's a princess in Matt's eyes.


	9. Failure to Communicate

**Failure ****To**** Communicate  
**_Grandma/Matt, Post-Who Do You Think You Are, PG13, 589 words, Title from __**House**_

Grandma sits in her chair and watches Matt go back and forth from his room to the kitchen. Every 5 seconds, back in, back out. She isn't sure what to make of it. He'll be alright, she supposes.

--

He's up every morning making her breakfast. Doesn't really talk much either. Just makes the food and says his goodbyes.

She eats her breakfast alone. Every day she decides that she's going to ask him what's going on when he comes home from work or practice and every time he does, she always forgets. She's left pondering for close to a half hour every night before she goes to bed what she forgot to do that day, and she can't for the life of her figure it out.

--

She hears him stumble inside the house after the football game. And the night after that. And the night after that. He's piss drunk each time of course. She leaves the bottle of aspirin on the kitchen table the next morning and doesn't say a word about it. She doesn't want to lecture him about drinking because she knows that's not the first time he came home drunk, and it won't be the last time either.

--

Grandma's sitting on her chair after dinnera few nights later. Matt once again heads back and forth from the kitchen to his roombefore she sees him grab his coat from the closet. Now she really has to say something.

"Matthew, honey, you alright?"

"Yeah, Grandma, I'm fine. Just going out for a little while." She senses an attitude in his voice, but isn't quite sure of it, so she says nothing about it.

"Okay, don't come home too late."

"I won't." And he's already out the door.

Grandma sighs to herself as she hears Matt speed off down the street. She worries that he might get into trouble if he isn't careful. But she knows he's a good kid and that nothing will happen. So she decides not to get herself worked up over it and goes back to watching TV.

--

She gets the call a few hours later while she was sleeping. It was Tami Taylor on the other line. Matt was involved in a car accident earlier that night and was at the hospital. Tami isn't sure where he was going or where he was before then, but he was drunk. Lost control of his car and slammed the passenger side right into a telephone pole. He was able to call for help before he passed out.He luckily only escaped with bruised ribs and cuts all over his body due to the shattered pieces of the passenger side window flying right into him.

She freaks out and immediately gets herself together before Coach comes and picks her up.

She walks into the room Matt is in and begins to cry once she sees him. How did this happen? Why did she let this happen? Why couldn't she see that there was something wrong? She always knew when Matt was upset and was always there for him when he needed her. So why wasn't she there now? She would never stop blaming herself for it (until everything was okay again. Then she would forget about it).

She sits next to him and holds onto his hand. He wakes up slightly from his sleep and says he's sorry. She tells him it's not his fault. That everything is going to be okay. Like she always does. Matt believes it too. Like he always does.


	10. Fear Itself

**Fear Itself  
**_Brett Weston, (Not) Unlike Me - Part Five, Pre-Series/Post-NUM Part 4, PG-13,647 words, Title from __**Everwood**_

November 8, 2007.

Brett decides to take the day off from school. Texts Julie to say he won't be there but he misses her and hopes he can see her later.

He gets dressed and gets into his car and drives. He knows where he's going and why. No one dares to question his motives.

--

At six, it was a smack in the mouth for not finishing dinner.

At eight, it was a football to the face for not being able to throw perfectly.

At ten, it was a leather belt to the back for not making first string for his pee-wee team.

And at thirteen, it was goodbye. Why bother sticking around when he ain't worth shit?

Brett knew his dad was a hard ass but this wasn't normal. While other dads in town use their verbal skills to put their sons down, his dad used physical skills, prepped with a half bottle of scotch and a limp leg. And if he wasn't going after Brett, it was his mom, for being the lazy bitch who would rather work than cook him dinner when he wanted it.

The minute his dad left, Brett met Dan, who was a friend of his mom. Flash forward a few years after and Brett learns that his mom's been "with" Dan months before dad even left. Brett doesn't even mind it. Good for her. They get married the day the divorce becomes official.

--

Brett pulls into West Texas Memorial Hospital. He knows what floor, and what room to go to. And when he does, the sight gets worse than the time before. There's his dad, dying of liver disease and who the hells knows what else. Brett takes no pity in his condition. Serves that asshole right, he hasn't done a damn good thing in his life. Let him suffer.

Brett sees him sleeping and walks towards him, to leave his birthday card. Just like he's been doing every year. He knows he shouldn't even waste his time, but it doesn't seem right to just ignore it.

"Brett…" he hears his dad say painfully as he's walking out of the room.

Brett doesn't look back. He's already wasted twenty seconds being in that room and he isn't wasting any more than he has to. Maybe next year he won't have to do this at all.

--

He drives homes and heads straight to his room and stays there. Mom and Dan don't bother him. They know the drill.

He quickly falls asleep and wakes up hours later in his pitch black room when he hears what sounds like banging on his window. The banging gets louder and begins to sounds weirder. He gets up to find Julie climbing through his window.

"Julie?"

"Hey. I tried calling you but you didn't answer so I wanted to stop by and see how you were doing." She throws her purse on Brett's desk and sits on his bed.

"Yeah, about that…" He sits up rubs his hand over his face. "…I'm sorry I didn't call. It's been a rough day." He falls back down on his bed again. Julie falls down next to him.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"No."

"Can I stay overnight then?"

Brett begins to laugh. He doesn't want to think about how she'll do that without getting in trouble or how she even climbed that window, but he doesn't care. She's here and he could use the company.

"Sure."

Julie takes her shoes and coat off and pulls the covers over her body and lets Brett wrap his arms around her. She turns to face him.

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine tomorrow. I promise. Thank you."

"For what?"

"Just… thank you." He leans his head in and kisses her. She smiles and turns to face away from him.

They fall asleep in each others arms.


	11. Lost and Found

**Lost and Found  
**_Julie/Matt/Landry/Tyra, Off-season, PG13, 1540 words, Title from __**Gilmore Girls**_

_You ever wake up one morning, and know — just know the day is going to suck? And there's nothing you can do to make it any better? No matter how good you cook those pancakes or how many times you kiss your loved one, nothing ever goes right. And no matter how hard you try, you just make things worse. You're lost in your own problems. It's frustrating, for one thing. And it's pretty damn stupid too most of the time. And worst part is… there's no way out._

Julie quickly got herself ready in the morning, and rushed to her parent's bedroom. There's only one thing she wanted and she wasn't going to stop until she got it.

"Mom, can Matt come over tonight and watch a movie? We can get pizza or something."

Julie noticed this approach didn't work out too well. It's not that her parents were against it, they just never heard her ask. They were too busy arguing over each other. Mom was saying something about how dad never gives her chance to help him get out of bed, and dad's saying something about being late. It was annoying, so Julie tried something else.

"Okay, fine, can I go over his house after school then?"

Still nothing.

Julie was getting even more annoyed at the lack of response to her question.

"Um, hello?"

"WAIT!" both her parents screamed at her simultaneously.

"Forget it then. I'll just go over his house. And who knows, maybe we'll go to some party, get drunk and have sex. YOU THINK ABOUT THAT!" she screamed as she walked back to her room. God, she hated when her parents fought. It wasn't that they always screamed and threw things. No. It was about the stupidest stuff you could fight over. And then during the night after one of their big fights, she could sometimes hear thumping through the wall, and that's just… _EW_. She knows it'll happen tonight and the thought just makes her want to vomit.

Neither her, nor her parents talk on the drive to school.

--

Landry began beeping the car horn every other second. After what felt like an eternity, Matt finally left his house and got in the car.

"What took you so long?" Landry practically screamed at him.

"You came early. I wasn't ready."

"And now we're going to be late because we have to go pick up Tyra. Now she'll hate both of us."

Matt tried to hold back his laughter as he read the morning paper.

"That's too bad. We were becoming really good friends too." This time Matt began laughing.

"You're an asshole."

Landry sped towards Tyra's house to find that her truck wasn't there. Curious, Landry knocked on the door to find her mom already on the other side, waiting for him.

"Oh, hey, her truck started running this morning, so she didn't need a ride. She wanted me to tell you when you got here." She gave Landry a smile. "Now hurry up, you're gonna be late."

Landry slowly walked back to his car and bashed his head against the steering wheel.

--

Matt got to his locker to find Julie waiting for him. He couldn't hide his smile in seeing her. She didn't look very happy though.

"Hey, you doing alright over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? You don't look very happy. You can tell me about it?"

"I said I'm fine. Quit badgering me!" she screamed at him. Well that's not how she wanted this conversation to go. "I'm sorry, I –"

"No, it's fine. I gotta get to class so I'll see you later."

Matt slammed his locker shut and walked off. He got to class only to find out he failed the test the week before. Not the best way to start a day.

--

Landry's day on the other hand, continued to get worse by the second. Some girl he didn't even know called him a geek for getting in her way as she was walking in the court yard (Landry thinks that if the airhead wasn't texting on her cell phone she wouldn't be bumping into people left and right) and Tyra didn't even care about telling Landry herself that her truck was working again, and thus, didn't need a ride to school.

"You know, you could have told me this before I started freaking out trying to get to your house and school on time."

"Well I didn't really think about it. I was just happy that my truck was working. I'm sorry."

"You know, sometimes, just saying you're sorry isn't going to work and make everything just magically disappear." Landry began going off on a tirade. Tyra wasn't even sure what was going on, but she wasn't too pleased at what Landry was saying to her. Landry didn't give her time to respond before he was walking away.

--

Lunch usually consisted of Landry, Matt, Julie, and Tyra sitting together and talking about anything and everything. But not today. Matt stayed with Julie in the library, where they did nothing but argue. He was pretty sure his comment about her growing up was the reason she called him an 'asshole' and stormed out. Landry sat in the cafeteria by himself and Tyra went home "sick".

Some day this was.

--

Julie sat in the backseat on the way home from school, feeling completely stupid. It was her fault that Matt was in a bad mood and it was her fault he flipped on her at the library. She knew he wasn't going to come over, and he probably wasn't even expecting her to be at his house either. But she had to make up for it. Her parents still arguing didn't make her feel any better, since she knew they wouldn't be arguing anymore in a few hours.

--

"You want to get something to eat?" Landry asked Matt as they made their way home from school.

"No, just take me home. I'm not in the mood."

"Okay then."

They drove in silence. Matt got out of the car when Landry pulled up to his house.

"I'll see you later man."

"Hey wait." Matt turned around to look at Landry. "Just… don't let one stupid, bad day ruin everything. Know what I'm saying?"

"You gonna take your own advice?" Matt shot back.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it."

Matt laughed and walked inside his house. He'd figured now wasn't the best time to try and call Julie and say he was sorry, so he took a nap to give both himself, and Julie time to cool off.

Landry decided to take his own advice, and called Tyra later that night to say that he was sorry he flipped out on here. She responded by asking him if he wanted to help with her homework and maybe they could get ice cream afterwards. Landry was at Tyra's house the minute he hung up.

--

Julie sat in her bedroom and looked at the time on her cell phone. It was eight o'clock and she could already hear the thumping going on. She's pretty sure she heard her mom laughing too. She needed to get out of her. _Like, now!_

She opened her bedroom window and started climbing out. No way was she walking out that front door. She'd have to pass _that_, and it would scar her for life.

She arrived at the Saracen house a few minutes later. Grandma told her that Matt was still sleeping and that it would be nice if she could wake up him already. So she walked in his room and lied next to him, which made him jump out of his sleep.

She began laughing. "Did I scare you?"

Still groggy, Matt tried to answer. "No."

"I don't believe you."

Matt laughed and sat up. "So what's up? I'm kinda surprised you still came over."

"Yeah, well I wanted to apologize for how I acted today. I was having a bad day and I took it out on you when you didn't deserve it. I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. I should be the one apologizing. I had a bad day too and had no right to say what I said."

Julie felt a rush of relief all over her body. "So you're not mad at me?"

"Not anymore." He leaned in and kissed the top of her head. "I'm not going to let a stupid, bad day ruin everything. There's always tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will be better." She said, kissing him back for a long while. "You wanna get something to eat? All this bad day talk is making me hungry."

He smiled. "You know it."

_So, the morale of the story is… well, I'm not sure there is one. The bad days always have their problems that pile on and on, but at the end of the day it's all about the basics. Get rid of the waste and start fresh. Because life can suck sometimes and there's no reason to let the bad overcome the good. But if it does, just remember that you can always count on that one thing… that one person… that makes tomorrow better._


	12. The Chase

**The Chase**  
_Landry/Tyra, Post-Season One, PG13, 1097 words, Title from __**Avatar**_

"Wanna go see a movie?" Tyra asked Landry that day at the Alamo Freeze. He didn't respond at first so Tyra asked again.

"Landry!" she screamed. "Movie? Tonight?"

Landry quickly got out of his trance.

"Yeah, of course."

"All you had to say."

--

They went to see _Spider-Man 3_ that night with almost every other person in West Texas.

"Is it really necessary for all these people to be here? We're never going to see this movie? And why did we come this far? There is a movie theater in Dillon you know." Tyra hissed at Landry as he parked in the parking lot. The line inside the theater spread outside and practically down the street.

"Tyra, this is the nicest movie theater you'll even be in. Trust me. And you know there's this thing called the internet. And when you have the internet you can buy a whole bunch of stuff on it. Like movie tickets."

"You already got them?"

"That's what I'm saying."

Tyra laughed as she walked out of the car. She laughed even more as they walked past every person in line and right to the machine where you could pick up your already ordered tickets. Landry slipped his credit card inside and out they came.

As they walked back to Landry's car when the movie ended, they began getting harassed by a big old guy. Who was clearly drunk.

"Hey baby, wanna hang with me tonight? Yeah you know it. C'mon baby, stop hanging with this loser. Come be with a real man."

Landry tried to approach the guy but Tyra stopped him.

"Don't give him the time. Keep walking."

"Yeah, that's right. Walk away. Be with that pussy you little bitch."

Before Landry can turn around and tackle the guy, Tyra pushed him to the side. She walked up to the guy herself, slapped him in the face and then proceeded to kick him in the balls. She ran back towards Landry's car.

"Hurry up and get out of here before he chases us!!"

Landry was already ahead of her. He was gone before she even finished her sentence.

"I can't believe you did that."

"He was an asshole. I'm pretty sure with that huge stomach of his he even couldn't even see his balls. So he wasn't missing anything special."

Landry and Tyra began laughing hysterically. The air was cool, and no one else was on the road. Just Landry's small car in the big empty Texas landscape. Tyra looked over at Landry and leaned closer to him. When he turned his head, there she was to greet him. Her lips, her hands, her hair. Landry took one hand off the steering wheel and held onto her face, their lips parting and meeting, fingers tracing the skin across their cheeks and necks. Landry's foot began pressing harder down on the gas petal, his car going faster and faster, never staying straight between the lines. It was passionate and reckless, all wrapped in one.

Tyra opened her eyes and looked at the window and saw a bright light heading right towards her.

"Look out!!" she screamed.

Landry let go of Tyra and grabbed hold of the steering wheel, as he saw another car head right for him. He turned the wheel as hard as he could as the other car headed passed him by. Both began screaming as Landry lost control of the car, as it spun around in circles all across the road. They felt the car roll down a short hill and lightly slam into something before it finally stopped.

Both tried to regain their composure as fast as they could.

"Are you alright," Landry asked her.

"I'm fine."

After a few minutes they began laughing.

"You were screaming like a little girl," Tyra said to him as she tried to stop herself from crying.

"Yeah, you wouldn't be saying anything if you would have seen your face."

They laughed some more, until they began to wonder how they stopped moving in the first place.

"What did I hit?" Landry backed up a little and turned the lights on and saw a car in front of him. It was a nice one too, not like those old abandoned cars you might see just stranded in the middle of nowhere.

"What is a car like that doing here?"

Landry looked closer and felt his jaw drop. Matt's head was peaking out the back window with the most confused look Landry's even seen on his face. And while they couldn't see his whole body, both Landry and Tyra were pretty sure he didn't have a shirt on. They couldn't tell if he had pants on but they were guessing that he didn't. Soon they saw Julie's head also peak out the back window, her messy hair all over the place.

Landry and Tyra looked at each other, and then at Matt and Julie, and began laughing. Matt looked at Julie, lying in front of him, completely naked – their post-sex make-out session put, literally, to a screeching halt.

"Well… this is… awkward," Matt said.

Just then it hit her (figuratively speaking this time).

"That asshole hit my mom's car!! Oh my God… oh my God. Put your clothes on. Oh my God. My mom's going to kill us."

She quickly put the clothes she could find on her, and crawled over to the front seat so she could get out of the car. She surveyed the damage, thanks to the light from Landry's car and noticed nothing but small scratches near the front light that her mom probably wouldn't even notice.

"You are so lucky." She screamed at him. He continued laughing.

"You two have a nice night? Nice shirt by the way."

Julie was livid. What was he talking about? What was so funny? She looked down and noticed that it was Matt's shirt she was wearing, and not her own.

"Uh, Jules…"

She turned to see a shirtless Matt walking towards her with her own shirt in his hand.

"Yeah… you kinda have my shirt. Can… I have it back?"

"Damn, someone's been working out in the off season," Tyra yelled from the car, still unable to control her laughter. Julie shot Tyra a dirty look which shut her up real quick.

"Sorry," Tyra yelled out.

"Can you two leave now? This is embarrassing."

"Yeah, yeah, we're going. Enjoy the rest of your night." Landry yelled out as he backed his car up and drove back towards the road.

Who knew going to the movies would be this eventful?


	13. Unspoken Truths

**Unspoken Truths  
**_Coach/Tami, Post-Seeing Other People, PG, 370 words, Title from __**Everwood, **__Co-written with Rachel_

Eric doesn't admit to it, but he's jealous of Glen. He's jealous that Glen has practically turned into Tami's best friend. Always talking to him out in the halls, or eating lunch in the office, Glen always seems to be there.

And it's not just jealously, Eric feels lonely. He feels like Glen has replaced him as the go-to person for Tami while they are at work. He misses the chance to get to talk to her when he's stressed, or just wants to talk. Because Tami is never there. Maybe he just has bad timing. He'd like to think that he does. But there's always that Glen-factor in the back on his mind. And he doesn't like it. Doesn't like it at all.

But he'd never ever tell her that.

--

Ever since Tami met Eric in college, she always felt like she was giving into him. They got married in his hometown because of his mother, they moved because of his job, and she took care of Julie while he supported them. And while Eric always made up for it in kisses, and flowers, and a sea of endless "thank you"s, Tami missed things about being on her own. She missed having her own friends, (the ones that didn't come up to her while she was food shopping to talk about football) and her own opinions. And when Tami started the job at the high school, she had faith that it could all change. She was nice to the faculty, and to the women of Dillon that may be normal, but still, she served the same family and the same role.

So when she does have Gracie, and when she does meet someone who isn't Eric, Tami feels like she can finally breathe. She can finally experience friendship. She only wishes Eric wouldn't be so jealous. It's not like she could love another man. She loves her role as his wife and as a mother more than anything in the world. She just likes having someone -- _anyone_ -- around who isn't her husband. So maybe when they fight, she has someone to go to or a shoulder if she should need it.

But she'd never ever tell him that.


	14. From A Whisper To A Scream

**From A Whisper To A Scream**  
_Tami/Coach/Matt/Julie/Grandma/Tyra/Landry/Buddy, Post-Season One, PG13, 1540 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**_

_It starts with an earthquake_

Summer. Hot. So very hot. Even if it was West Texas, this heat wasn't normal. And you wouldn't dare go outside if you didn't have to. Not this week. Dillon was a ghost town. You could hear a pin drop or talk in a whisper and hear every word clearly if you were outside. Everyone was looking to either get away or stay inside their cool houses. The heat wasn't a place anyone wanted to be in.

Then the ground started to rumble. It was as if the Panthers were jumping up and down as they prepared for a game. Instead of only being contained in the locker room, it was felt through the whole town (and not figuratively speaking either as it usually was).

Some didn't want to believe it, but Dillon experienced its very first earthquake. While it didn't last long it sure packed its punch. Tami's wedding photo (as well as every other picture) on the mantel fell, leaving its frame completely useless. It could always be replaced. Matt wasn't so lucky. A few football trophies from the bed stand fell on top on him while he slept, leaving a few black and blue marks across his face, as well as a busted lip. An ice pack would do the trick.

But that was the least of their problems.

The power was out, and the water mains were busted. And once reality hit, people began to panic.

"This is really stupid," Tyra exclaimed to Landry as she tried to put her back porch in order again.

"How? We just got hit by an earthquake. This doesn't happen... well it doesn't happen."

"I know that! It's just… people act like the world is ending because a few things fell out of place or the power isn't on. Seriously, someone tried to steal the bottled water I had in my hand while I was at the gas station. No really, I'm not kidding."

"I believe you. Some people are just weird like that. Don't worry about it."

"I hate this town." Tyra shoves a chair back in its place with force.

--

"What'd mean there was an earthquake?"

"I mean, there was an earthquake, honey. Yes, an actual earthquake. That's what I'm saying to you."

Coach rubbed his hand over his face as he sat at his desk in his new office at TMU. How the hell did an earthquake hit Dillon?

"Well, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. The house is a mess and the power is out, but I'm fine. Don't come home, please."

"Get Julie to help you clean. I don't want you doing it all by yourself. You're pregnant."

"Oh, I'm pregnant? So, _that's_ why my stomach is so big these days, and I get so cranky and tired all the time. Thank you sweetheart, I had no idea." She laughed.

"Stop laughing, this isn't funny."

"Oh honey, will you calm down. It's not the end of the world. You just go back to doing what you're doing, and I'll call you later after everything here gets settled, okay?"

--

"Whoa! What happen to your face?" Julie asked as she walked into Matt's house, which was a complete mess. There were things everywhere. Magazines, pictures, broken glass from tea cups. It was no wonder Matt called her for help.

"Oh, some of my trophies fell on me while I was sleeping. It's no big deal. I'm fine." Matt said, as if getting his face bruised happened to him all the time. Julie could tell he was trying a tough jock approach, and sadly, it wasn't working very well.

"Well, if you say so," she answered sarcastically.

"What? You don't believe me." He moved closer and closer towards her. And before she knew it, he was kissing her. She backed away quickly.

"How 'bout we clean this place up before we do anything else."

He nodded his head in disapproval and started cleaning as Grandma took a nap in her room. The heat building up in the small house was almost unbearable to stand. Almost immediately, they were soaked in sweat, and about an hour later, the house was back to normal. They sat down outside on Matt's front porch, trying to breathe in any cool air they could find, and hoping a breeze would come and cool them off. But with it only being mid-afternoon, they had another few hours before the night would kill the heat. And with the water still not running, a shower was completely out of the question.

"My house is a lot cooler probably. Wanna go over there until it starts getting dark out, bring Grandma with us?"

"Yeah, let me go wake her up."

Matt quickly got up and walked inside his house. A few minutes later, he was back outside again, helping Grandma walk down the steps.

They walked towards the Taylor house, looking around at everyone cleaning up the mess that's been made. They noticed that not a lot of damage was caused by the quake, which left them wondering just why people were going crazy. Sure the inside of their houses were probably a mess, but it wasn't like their house collapsed.

"Some people just like to cause trouble, that's what I always say, right Matthew?" Grandma told them both.

"Yeah, Grandma, that's what you say."

"I sure hope the power comes back on soon. I'm gonna miss my show."

--

They arrived at the Taylor house a few minutes later, Tami lying on the couch with a bag of ice over her face. Maybe instead of her husband coming home, she would go over there with Julie for a few days, let everything here get settled first. It's not like anyone needed her here anyway. She heard the sound of the door open and tried her hardest to get herself up, but being 8 months pregnant didn't help anything.

"Mom… you here?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Tami yelled out. After struggling to get her feet off the couch, she was able to get up and greet Julie, and Matt, and Grandma.

"Oh, Mrs. Taylor, how are you? Oh, look at you," Grandma shouted as her walked towards her.

"Hello Mrs. Saracen." She shot Julie a look as she hugged Matt's grandmother. Matt saw it and tried to get Grandma away for a second.

"Come on Grandma, let's just you something to drink."

Julie stared at her mother.

"What was I supposed to do, leave them in that house all day?"

"Well honey, you could have told me you were coming. This house is just as hot as theirs –"

"No, it already feels better in here. Trust me on that."

"If you say so." She took a look at Matt.

"Matt, there's some bottled water in the freezer."

She again looked at Julie.

"Well, they might as well stay for dinner. Just next time, please tell me before hand."

"Yeah, I will." Julie rolled her eyes and went into the kitchen, as someone began knocking on the door.

"Don't you rolls your eyes at me, missy. Now who is this!?"

Tami walked to the door and found Buddy standing in front of her. What the hell did he want?

"Buddy, so good to see you," she said in a sarcastic tone, hoping he'd turn around and walk away.

"Hey Tami. How are you? Everything alright?"

"Yep, we're doing alright. What brings you to the neighborhood?"

"Well, just thought I stop by, see how you were doing. The power should be back on in an hour or two."

"Great. How about the water?"

"They're replacing some of the broken pipes but that should be done by tomorrow. It wasn't as bad as they originally thought. But we have a bigger problem."

"We do?" Tami wasn't sure what Buddy was getting at. The power was about to come back on, the water would be on by morning, what else was there to worry about. But more importantly, what was wrong that concerned her?

"It's about the football field. The stadium took a lot of damage. And well…"

"Well what?" This didn't sound very good. By now both Matt and Julie were standing behind Tami wondering what was going on.

"The stands need to be replaced. The visitors completely collapsed and the home stands are about to do the same. The field goals posts fell over, our scoreboard was destroyed. The whole place is a mess. The board trying to decide what to do. We might have to play somewhere else if this doesn't get fixed in time."

Matt and Julie stared at each other and then again at Buddy. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. How did this happen? And what's going to happen if they have to play somewhere else? It'll be a nightmare.

All of a sudden the screams and the panic make sense. Dillon's world was centered on that football field. And none of them could imagine what life would be like if they couldn't be there on Friday nights, if they had to be somewhere else instead. It felt like a knife stabbing them all in the heart.

Maybe the world was really ending.


	15. Employee of the Month

**Employee of the Month  
**_Matt/Landry/Smash, Post-Who Do You Think You Are, PG13, 1384 words, Title from __**the Sopranos**_

Matt sat at the register as he continued to wipe down the counter. To any on-looker, it was as if he was in a trance, just standing there, looking off into the distance as his hand moved the wet rag back and forth and around in circles.

Smash on the other hand was blazing through his shift, replacing napkin containers, wiping off dirty tables and seats for later customers, and making sure everyone was happy and had their food quickly, that he hardly notice Matt was just standing there. But then again, he had his own problems to deal with, and didn't feel like adding anyone else's on top of the pile of drama that he's created.

"Oh yeah, this is gonna get me mad points. I'm gonna be employee of the month for sure. Looks like you got some competition there Mattie." He slapped Matt on the shoulder as he went to throw some trash out the dumpster. When he came back, Matt was still in his trance.

"Matt, you hear a word I just said to you?"

Matt shook his head a little and came back down to reality.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Don't give me that crap."

"No really. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Smash rolled his eyes. He wondered if Matt would ever realize he doesn't fool anyone. Or if he would actually grow a set.

"I told you this would happen. Something too good to last. Those words came out of my mouth and you didn't wanna hear it. Get over it already."

Matt felt offended.

"What did you just say to me?"

"How about you do your job and maybe you'll get employee of the month. That'll cheer you up."

Matt threw his hat on the counter in disgust. Smash has some nerve saying stuff like that. He walked to the back and grabbed his coat before walking towards the front door.

"Where you going?" Smash asked him.

"I'm going home. Maybe I'll do some growing up while I'm there. Sure as hell make you happy."

Smash watched as Matt walked out and sped out of the parking lot in his car before smiling. That plaque already had his name on it. They might as well just give it to him right now.

--

Matt sat on the hood of his car in an empty field a few days later after practice and drank a beer. His fourth actually. He'd usually come up every day and drink one or two before going to work or going home but today it was different.

Landry noticed him from the side road in the distance and drove up to him.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Landry asked as he got out of the car.

"What does it look like I'm doing Landry?"

"It looks like you're getting drunk. Any reason why? Does this have to do with what's-her-name?"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Maybe I just feel like doing this for the hell of it. Kinda like Riggins. Ever think of that one before?" He threw his empty can into the distance and opened another one.

"I don't think drinking your pain away is going to do you any good."

"And how would you know?" Landry didn't immediately respond. "Yeah, you don't know. So mind your own business."

Landry turned around and walked away. There was no use in getting him to talk. Not like this. He knew Matt was upset over Carlotta leaving, but this was not what he was expecting.

"Well whenever you decide to wanna talk, I'll be in my mom's car waiting."

Landry opened the driver side door of his mother's car and sat down and waited. He watched as Matt finished his 6-pack and stumbled off the car's hood and to the driver's seat. Landry quickly got out of his mother's car and ran towards Matt's car. He'd have to run Landry over if he wanted to stop him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Landry screamed at him.

"Home, asshole. Now get out of my way."

"Nope. Not gonna happen. I'm not letting you drive. Now move over. I'll drive you home."

Matt quickly got out of the car and got in Landry's face.

"I will kick… your ass right… here." Matt stuttered and stumbled as he tried to tell Landry to get out of his way and let him go home, but when Landry grabbed a hold of his shoulder to try and calm him down, he snapped, pushing him to the ground and punching him in the face. It wasn't until he saw the blood coming out of Landry's mouth did he realize what he actually did.

"Oh… I'm… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…" Matt got up and began to panic, running his hands through his hair. He began breathing heavily, pacing back and forth and back and forth, breathing heavier and heavier until he fell to his knees.

Landry quickly got up and ran to Matt's side. He wasn't going to hold a grudge for a bloody mouth.

"Okay, okay… breathe slowly. There you go. Just relax yourself." Landry tried saying whatever he could to get him to calm down. He wasn't exactly sure if would work though.

"I didn't know it was going to be this hard," Matt told him. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant. It makes Landry sick that Matt gets dealt the shitty hand. The minute something good comes into his life, it's gone just like that. But him, he murders someone. Should spend the rest of his life in jail, but no. They drop the charges. He's a free man. Allowed to live his life without worry. But Matt, who's never done a bad thing in his life, has nothing. Everyday is a constant struggle. Landry shouldn't be surprised that Matt was here, trying to drink the pain away. But he does know that Matt is better than this. He isn't going to let him continue to suffer while he goes free. Not anymore.

"I can't… do this anymore," he hears Matt say.

"Yes you can Matt. I know... that you're better than this." Landry realizes this is the second time he's said that line is the past couple of weeks. Maybe this time it'll do some good. "I'm not going to let you sit here like this. Now get up. I'm taking you home."

He grabs Matt by the arm and helps him inside his car. Landry gets in the drivers seat and drives him home.

"What about your mom's car," Matt asked him as they pulled into the driveway of Matt's house.

"I'll think of some kind of excuse as to why it's stuck there. You need me to help you inside? I don't want you tripping over yourself."

Matt smiles. "No, I'll be alright. Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for."

Matt laughs as he and Landry got out of the car.

"I'm gonna go walk home. Try to get my mom's car back without having her flip on me. Things will be alright. Trust me."

Matt just nods his head and walks inside. Landry walks home and tells his mom that her car ran out of gas and Matt had to bring him home. She doesn't flip out. Landry is relieved.

--

A week later, Landry's hanging with Matt and Smash at the Alamo Freeze. Landry notices their boss walking towards them.

"Hey Matt, can I talk to you for a minute."

Matt looks at both Smash and Landry before looking up at her.

"Uh, sure."

He quickly gets up from his seat and heads to the back with his boss. He walks out a few minutes later holding a plaque in his hand and a huge smile on his face.

"Are you kidding me!?!?"

Matt shows both Landry and Smash his plaque for being Employee of the Month for October 2007.

"See look at that, things are already looking up. I told ya." Landry tells him.

"Aw man, that ain't right. That should be mine."

Matt laughs at Smash being so mad he didn't get it. Oh well, too damn bad, he says to himself.

Landry was right, things were looking up. And nothing was going to ruin it for him.


	16. Contagious

**Contagious**  
_Matt, Post-Who Do You Think You Are, PG13, 1092 words, Title from __**Law & Order: Special Victims Unit**_

Daily afternoon naps. Ask any teenager you encounter about them and you'll get the same answer from probably all of them: _They are amazing_. After a long, boring day at school, there's nothing like a nap on your bed. It suddenly becomes more comfortable than ever, and before you know it you're out like a light.

Matt was sprawled across his bed, lying on his stomach, bare feet sticking out from his jeans. Around this time, he's usually at work or practice or making sure Grandma wasn't doing anything crazy like burning the house down. But today he had the day off, and football was over for the season. The Dillon Panthers, state champions, were out of the playoffs. With Smash benched for the rest of the regular season, it was up to him and the rest of the team to pull together, win, and look onward to State. And let's just say… that didn't go so well. And Grandma, well, unless she's a sleep walker, then there wouldn't be any problems.

Matt was awakened by banging on the door. He ignored it as usual, because it's Landry and he's only here to bug him about something.

"Matt, I know you're in there, open the door!!"

"Go away Landry!! I'm trying to sleep."

"Yeah well sleep time is over. Now get up and open the door. I got something for you."

Matt punched his pillow and slowly got up from his bed. This better be good, or he's going to be furious.

"What is so important that you couldn't wait an hour or two?"

"Well, I was going to ask you for some help with Tyra, but I found this envelope on you door. You know a… Elizabeth West?"

Matt quickly turned around and snatched the envelope out of Landry hand. This sudden movement startled him.

"I'll take that as a yes." Landry watched as Matt tore the envelope open and read the letter inside. "So… who is she?" Matt swatted him away and sat down on the couch. Landry watched as Matt's jaw dropped. Landry sat next to him and read the letter himself.

_Matt,_

_We hit it big! Can you believe it? I can't. You and Grandma deserve your share. So please take this. I know it doesn't make up for anything, but it wouldn't be fair if you were left out_

_Love you.__  
Mom_

Landry looked at the bottom of the paper and felt his own jaw drop. Taped to the piece of loose leaf was a check. For $250,000.

"Whoa. Holy shit dude."

Matt's face didn't moved, his eyes still glazed on the letter.

"I… I know."

It was more money he's ever seen in his life. How she "hit it big" he didn't know. And didn't want to know. It still didn't change anything. But he knew he had to take it. She'd sent checks over again and again until he finally caved. She wanted him to be happy. She wouldn't have given him all this money if she didn't. Once he finally let it all sink in, he finally looked up at Landry and couldn't hide his excitement.

"Guess we should put in this bank then."

--

For the next few days, Matt and Landry kept the check a secret. They had no intentions of telling anyone. Matt also had no intentions of using the money unless he really needed to. He was saving most of it for college, as he no longer had to worry about being able to afford it. He also decided to keep his job at the Alamo Freeze. Now that football was over, he had a lot more time on his hands. And it kept him out of trouble or saved him from boredom. But as the days passed by, he found it harder and harder to contain himself. People were going to start wondering why he went from being someone who showed up drunk to practice and didn't care about anything, to becoming the happiest person in town so quickly. So he tried his best to keep it under control.

But the one (and probably only) person who knew something was up right away was Julie. She's never seen Matt this happy, even when they were together. She began feeling sharp pain in her heart. She wanted so badly to say something, anything to him, but what? She hasn't talked to him in a long time. But she couldn't, nor wouldn't, take it anymore. His happiness was contagious. And she wanted so badly to be happy around him again.

"Uh, hey," she told him.

"Hey Julie," he said. He didn't sound very happy. Julie knew why and almost wanted to turn around and run away.

"So… how have you been?"

"I'm doing okay. How are you?"

She sighed. "I'm doing alright. Same old, same old."

They stood there in silence for a few moments. Julie wanted to scream.

"Wow," she said. "I can't believe things are so awkward between us now. How did it get this bad?"

What a stupid question to ask, she told herself. They both know the answer to this, but neither would say it. Not here anyway.

"I just… I miss you," she told him.

"I miss you too." He stood there and let it sink in. He did miss her. And maybe now they could finally fix things.

"I have to go to work. But you wanna come around later, just hang out?"

She smiles at him, for the first time in months.

"Yeah, that would be nice."

"Alright then. I'll see you later." And with that, Matt shut his locker and walked away.

Julie showed up later that night while he was at work. They sat at one of the corner tables, away from the other customers (although not that many were here at this time of night), and talked. About everything. Swede, Carlotta, her feelings, his feelings, her family situations, the check he received from his mother. It felt good to let everything out. Even if it wasn't the easiest thing in the world to do.

Once the Freeze closed, Matt and Julie finally left. Matt offered to drive her home and she accepted, trying her hardest not to make fun of him having his own car, and how "she" helped him buy one (they both shared a laugh at this).

When Matt pulled up to the Taylor house, he leaned towards Julie and kissed her on the cheek.

A week later he was doing more than just kissing her on the cheek.


	17. Father Knows Best

**Father Knows Best**  
_Matt/Coach, Season's One and Two, PG13, 762 words, Title from __**Dexter**_

Sometimes Matt thinks it's a little creepy that he thinks this way, that if he ever said it out loud he would get made fun of or punched in the mouth. But if he was allowed to honestly tell you, straight up, without getting heckled for it, he'd tell you that he wished Coach Taylor was his real father. Instead of that guy in the Army who only comes home for a week or two every five or six months.

Unlike most people, Coach Taylor believed in him. That no matter the obstacle, no matter how many people looked down on him, he could do whatever he set his mind to. It was the most truthful, positive thing an adult ever told Matt in his entire life. He keeps what Coach told him deep down inside him. He keeps everything Coach does deep down inside him. The encouragements, the pats on the back for playing well, and for all the times he was just _there_. That's what a father is supposed to do for his son. And Coach Taylor has done that more in four months than Henry has in his whole life.

--

Coach knows Matt is a good kid. That he has it tough but doesn't let it bring him down. He's never seen anyone with more determination to succeed than him. Coach actually sees a little bit of himself in Matt. Always doing his best so that people are proud of him, and trying his damn hardest not to screw it all up.

_He's like a stink bug_ he always says. But not only in the sense that Matt can't be crushed by any of the shit he has been dealt with, but because he's dating his daughter. Coach would love nothing more than to squash what these two have together, without feeling badly about it in the end. But he knows it'll never happen. He tried to get in the way and they easily got around it. And he'd never hear the end of it from his daughter or his wife if he ever went too far. So he lets it go and tries not to let it get to him (_you wouldn't look good with grey hair_, Tami tells him). His daughter is growing up, and Matt's one of the good ones. They make each other happy, and Coach wants nothing more than for both of them to be happy in life. And if that means they are together as much as they can be, then so be it.

--

Matt, although shocked and upset, isn't surprised to learn that Coach took a college job in Austin. It was going to happen sooner or later. But he wishes it wouldn't happen at all. Why must someone else he cares for leave him? And not only that, but he's taking Julie with him. Did he do something wrong? Is he just not good enough anymore?

What did he do to deserve this?

Matt wants to tell Coach that night at the hotel exactly what he feels. How pissed he is at him, how upset he is at him, how Coach was more of a father to him than his own father, but he doesn't say anything. Giving Coach the chance to throw around some crap about how Matt would understand what he did if he was ever lucky enough to have a family like he does. Matt wants to choke him. What gives him the right to say something like that, knowing full well he doesn't have a family? That his "family" is leaving him behind and starting a new life without him. Just like everyone else has. What an asshole.

--

Coach may of had good intentions to do what he did, and even to come home again (Matt may not be with Julie anymore but he knows how screwed up her family life has been). But Matt isn't sure what to believe from Coach anymore. And when Coach tries to straighten things up between Matt and Smash (and even between himself and Matt), Matt calls him on it, because he's only doing it to make himself look good and to feel better about everything. Correct all the mistakes he has made. Matt doesn't give Coach the chance to respond before he's out the door. It's going to take a long while for that trust to come back. And whether he likes it or not, Matt isn't going to give Coach the time of day until he's ready to hear him out.

Sometimes, father _never_ knows best.


	18. Collision

**Collision**  
_Matt/Landry, Pre-Series, PG13, 759 words, Title from __**Heroes**_

Back when they were kids, neither Matt Saracen or Landry Clarke knew that they would become best friends, let alone be each other's best mans at their weddings.

It all started when they bumped into each other on the first day of second grade. Matt was "the new kid" now that he and his mom moved in with his grandma and grandpa instead of being stuck with the rest of the "bland and boring" Army families. Matt was short and not very tough, not like Landry, who was almost the exact opposite.

"Get out of my way loser," Landry screamed at him, before pushing him against the wall and walking away. Matt rubbed his bruised shoulder before walking to his classroom. This was not how he expected his first day to go.

--

The next few days were much of the same. Landry would see Matt and purposely push him or tease him. Then one day, Matt had enough and pushed Landry right back, making his elbow bled. Both of them were sent to the principals' office and given a week's worth of detention.

After the week of detention was up, Landry's mother forced him to go to Matt's house and apologize for being a bully. Landry walked to Matt's house, by himself, and found Matt outside throwing around a football through a tire. Matt saw him at the corner of his eye and turned to greet him.

"I'm sorry for pushing you," Landry said to him. Matt just nodded. It was a little awkward for both of them.

"Can I throw the football around with you?" Landry then asked.

Matt just nodded again and gave Landry the ball. They didn't speak much while they were together, but they didn't really need to. A week later, Matt was sleeping over Landry's house and playing Super Nintendo with him everyday after school.

--

Matt's eating with Landry at the diner one day after school when Landry started laughing out of nowhere.

"What the hell is so funny?" Matt asked him.

"I was just thinking about how we met. You remember that?"

"Yeah. You always made fun of me until I kicked your ass. Not so tough now are ya?"

"I'm not so sure about that one."

"Course you're not."

Landry laughs some more. Matt tries to ignore him since Julie just walked in and is making her way towards him.

"What would you do without me Matt?"

"There are probably a lot of things."

"Like…"

Julie sat down next to Matt and gave him a kiss. Landry laughed knowing his question would probably never get answered. Oh well, he knew Matt was stuck with him for life.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked them.

Landry looked at Matt and then at Julie.

"Best friend stuff. No girls allowed."

Julie rolled her eyes. So typical of these two. She could only imagine what they were talking about. And sometimes she'd really rather not know. The things she imagines in her head are a lot better than what she hears out loud.

--

Matt stood next to Landry inside Austin's city hall. He looked at Julie standing in front of him and smiled before looking back at Landry. Who knew the big kid who was mean to him on the first day of second grade would become his best friend, and who knew that he would be the first one to get married.

All three, as well as Austin's mayor, watched as Tyra walked towards them, carrying a bouquet of flowers in a small white dress. This was another thing Matt couldn't believe. Who knew Landry would be the guy who got Tyra in the end.

After the short ceremony ended, the four of them went to celebrate before Landry and Tyra went to Hawaii on their honeymoon. Matt looks across the bar at Julie and Tyra before turning to Landry and laughing.

"Man, that's just crazy."

"What's that?"

"You and Tyra. I'm happy for you two and all, but I would have never guessed."

"Says the guy who thinks he's cooler than me. Just face the fact Mattie, I got the hotter babe and got her for good before you got yours. It's okay to be jealous. I respect that."

"Yeah, okay," Matt laughs hysterically as Julie and Tyra walked towards them.

"What's so damn funny?" Tyra shouts.

"Nothing. Just… best friend stuff. No girls allowed. You understand," Landry tells his beautiful bride.

Julie and Tyra look at each other and roll their eyes.

"You two are so lame."


	19. Crossroads

**This is only the first part of this story I got going on. Don't when when part two will come out but I hope this at least keeps you interested until then.

* * *

**

**Crossroads**  
_Matt Saracen/Cristina Yang/Patty Hewes/Chuck Charles, PG13, 437 words, Title from __**Band of Brothers**_

Patty Hewes hates Los Angeles. To her, it's dirty, disgusting, full of two-faced fuckers who couldn't last two seconds in New York City. And it smelled bad, and didn't have anything special to it except some stupid sign on a mountain top. But she was here anyway. Some big gala for a bunch of lawyers and politicians that she hated. Her husband convinced her to go. Saying she could use a vacation, and not one at the beach house.

She takes a taxi to her hotel, already hating that she was here. When she walks towards the front entrance, she sees a man running out, almost bumping into her. She takes her sunglasses off and watches as he runs for his life.

--

Matt walks out of his plane and takes his cell phone out of his pocket. He calls Julie, but she doesn't answer. Must be in class.

"Hey Jules. I just got off the plane. Um, I'll be at my hotel later, so call me. Bye."

Matt arrived at the hotel about an hour later, the same hotel that Patty Hewes is staying at. He rolls his eyes as he walks down the hall towards his room. USC, for some strange reason, had an interest in Matt playing football for them. He knew it was a bad idea to be playing for them, let alone actually go to that school, but he had to at least go and visit and see if it's as bad as he believes it to be.

He stood in front of his door as he grabbed his key when he saw a young brown haired woman down the hall staring at him. She waved and smiled. Matt waved back and walked into his room.

Well that was odd, he thought.

--

"_You're going to LA?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_Um, why?"_

"_Vacation."_

"_Cristina!"_

"_Oh come on, I'm only going to be gone for a week. I need… sunshine, and happiness. I need to get away from Hahn and Izzie before I do something very gory and disgusting."_

"_If you say so."_

Yang got out of the taxi she took to get hotel and walked to the front desk.

"Yeah, Yang, Cristina."

"Would you like us to take your bag up for you?"

"Yeah sure."

Yang grabbed her room key and walked towards the elevator when she heard a loud bang and people screaming. She didn't know what it was about, and she didn't like how this would be the start to her vacation. But if this included bloody victims in need of getting cut open, well then, this was her kind of vacation.

_/tbc/_


	20. Irregular Around The Margins

**Remember when I said each story will be different unless otherwise stated. Well, this is one of those times. This story is part one. Expect part two in a couple of days (and both of these parts together will make up Part 6 of the Julie/Brett Weston story you're probably familiar with. Make sense? Awesome!)

* * *

****Irregular Around the Margins**  
_Julie/Weston/Landry/Matt, Post- Leave No One Behind, PG13, 1592 words, Title from __**the Sopranos**_

Brett sat in the passenger seat as Julie began driving his car around the neighborhood. Brett noticed that she had the biggest smile on her face. He on the other hand, felt completely nervous. Like she might get distracted and crash the car at any second.

"Okay, I think you've had enough fun with my car for one day, so can you please pull over and let me drive the rest of the way?"

Julie looked at Brett and tried to give her best sad-face, but it didn't work. So she pulled over and put his car in park.

"You are no fun what-so-ever."

"Hey, it's called, I don't want you crashing my car into a telephone pole and most likely sending both of us to the hospital. That's not cool."

"Yeah, whatever. Buzzkill."

Julie gave Brett a kiss before forcefully sitting on the passenger seat.

--

Julie stood at her locker the following Monday when Landry, limp leg and all, walked up to her.

"Julie Taylor."

"Landry Clarke. What's up?"

"Okay, look, I know this is going to sound a little strange and all because it's about Matt –"

"How is that strange? You know, things aren't that weird between us anymore. We're getting along, and he's okay with me and Brett going out."

"Well, see, I kinda don't think that's the case anymore. You do know what's been going on lately, right?"

Julie stopped to think and didn't know about anything going on in Matt's life that would be a cause for concern.

"No, can't say I do."

"Okay well, the maid –"

"Nurse…"

"Right, the nurse. Carlotta. Yeah, she left, and ever since he's been drinking non-stop, skipping school, showing up to practice drunk, not really caring about anything. He won't talk to me about any of it. And I was kinda hoping that maybe you'd help me in that department. I'm a little worried about him, you know?"

Julie stood there as Landry told her he needed her help. It didn't take long to come up with a decision.

"Yeah, I'll talk to him. Is he here at school?"

"Nope. He didn't show up. You could probably try his house after school cause you know he probably won't go to practice either. Which I'm sure will make your boy happy."

Julie laughs a little

"Yeah, it probably will. I'll go over his house after school today. Thanks for telling me Landry."

"Thanks for helping me Julie."

Landry walked away as the bell rung.

Julie hopes that can help him. But she doesn't fully understand the situation and she's not so sure she can get the job done.

--

Julie spots Brett in the parking lot after school. As much as she wants him to know where she's going and what she's doing, she'd rather not tell him. He'll get too concerned, and tell her not to get involved in Matt's problems. But she can't lie to him about this. It wouldn't be right.

"Hey, Jules," Brett shouted at her. She wants to make this conversation end as soon as possible.

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm good. Had a good practice today. I got to start too. You wanna go get something to eat with me? I'll let you drive my car. And I won't freak out this time. Promise." Brett begins laughing and kisses Julie lightly on the cheek.

"I would, but… I was going to stop over Matt house to –"

"Wait, you're going to Matt's house? Why?" Julie sensed an attitude in Brett's voice.

"Let me finish talking before you get all mad. Landry told me some things that have been going on lately and I wanna make sure Matt's okay. That's all."

"Well, I'm just saying, you could –"

"No, it's fine. I should have told you earlier. It's no big deal. I won't be there long. I'll call you right after." She quickly gave Brett a kiss and walked to her mom's car, which she, luckily was now allowed to drive to school. She quickly drove to Matt's house and knocked on the door. Grandma was there to greet her.

"Julie!!" Grandma shouted before opening the screen door and wrapping her arms around her. "Oh honey, it is so good to see you. How are you?"

"I'm doing good. Is Matt home at all?"

"No, no, he isn't here yet. But he will be soon." Julie peaked through the hardly open door to Matt's room to find him passed out on his bed. This was going to be harder than she thought. She watched as Grandma walked into her room.

"Would you like me to make you a sandwich Julie? I can make one if you're hungry. We sure do miss you around here. You should come by more often."

"Yeah, I miss it too. But you don't have to make me anything. I just ate before I got here."

"Well okay then. I hope you don't mind me taking a little nap while you wait for Matthew. I'm sorry to keep you waiting all by yourself."

"Oh, that's okay Grandma. You can take your nap. I could just come back later."

"Oh nonsense, he'll be here any minute, just you watch. Do you mind fetching me a glass of water though?"

Julie quickly grabbed a glass and filled it with water before she brought it to Grandma and shut the bedroom door behind her. She made her way through the hallway and opened the side door to Matt's room. She walked slowly towards him and began rubbing her hand on his shoulder.

"Matt… Matt…"

Matt quickly jumped up and ran his hand over his face, moaning in pain, before he saw Julie.

"Julie? What the hell? How did you get here?"

"Grandma let me in. And she's fine. She just went to go take a nap."

Matt sat up and stretched his body out, his head spinning every other direction. Julie could tell he was drinking earlier (it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out). This wasn't going to be easy.

"Um… Landry came by to talk to me today. About you." She tried to say as casually as possible.

Matt rolled his eyes. Here comes another lecture.

"I just want to make sure you're alright."

Matt began laughing. Loudly.

"Am I alright? HA! Am I alright? That's a good one Julie, bravo! You sure are smart."

Julie felt offended. But more clueless than anything.

"You think this is funny?" she said with anger in her voice. Now she was really getting mad. Just exactly why did Landry ask her to come here? So she could look like an idiot? She wanted to scream. Matt could tell and he was getting upset. Julie looked right into his eyes, for the first time in a long time. And before she knew what hit her, she found Matt lying on his bed crying.

"Hey, hey, what… are you okay?" she asked as she lied down next to him.

"No, I'm not. I… I don't want to talk about it okay. Can you just leave me alone? Please? I'm sorry but I need to be alone."

Julie wanted so badly to stay with him, tell him everything was going to be alright, but she knew she was part of the problem and would only make things worse. So she got up off the bed and headed for the door.

Matt wanted her to stay here with him, so he could have someone tell him that he isn't some freak who no one loves. But he couldn't. Not right now. He needed to take care of himself first.

"If you want to talk to me later on, or tomorrow, or whenever, you can. I'm here for you. Okay?"

She saw Matt nod his head before she slowly closed his bedroom door and walked out of his house.

She sat in her mother's car for a good five minutes crying before Brett called her. She tried to hide the fact, but it didn't seem to work. She started up the car and made her way to his house. He was waiting for her outside by the time she got there.

"Are you okay? What did he do to you?" he shouted.

"Nothing, he didn't do anything." She began crying ever harder than before.

"Julie, please tell me what's going on." Brett was getting frustrated. He didn't understand anything that was happening with her and Matt.

"It's just, I don't know, he's just having a tough time with some stuff and I want to help him out and it's just… so hard. I don't want to just ignore it; I don't want to screw this up. It isn't fair."

He wrapped his arms around her in a hug and let her cry on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine. Don't let yourself get worked up over it okay. Come on, I'll make you something to eat." He turned around, keeping his arm around her shoulders, and led her into his house.

--

Brett lied on his bed that night and thought about everything. Was he the jealous one this time? Was he just angry that she still cared about Matt when she shouldn't? He didn't know, but everything seemed so irregular to him, like the picture he was envisioning looked messed up and needed to be retaken or redeveloped. But whatever it was, he needed to figure it out and fast before it was too late to fix.

He didn't get much sleep that night.

_/tbc/_


	21. Didn't We Almost Have It All?

**Second two-parter in this collection of fics.

* * *

Didn't We Almost Have It All?**  
_Coach/Tami/Julie/Smash/Matt, Post-Season One, PG13, 1060 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**_

Coach runs his hand over his hair before putting his brand new State Champion hat on. He looks at himself in the mirror and smiles. But he isn't as happy as he wants to be. His players are finally champions after one of the most intense years they've ever seen, his wife is finally pregnant again, and he finally has the college job of his dreams. And he wants to be happy. He tries to be happy about it all, but none of it seems to get the job done. He feels like he's making a mistake, taking this job at TMU, and leaving his family and his team behind.

Everything he's worked for, everything he's always dreamed of is here, right in the palm of his hands. And he doesn't even want it.

--

Tami looks at herself in the mirror as she puts her earrings on. She watches as her husband walk around the house like a lost little kid. Whether he's walking inside the bathroom, going into the kitchen, or coming back into their bedroom, he's going back and forth. Like he doesn't know what he is doing, or what it is than he wants. She isn't sure what to make of it, and she doesn't know whether or not to ask him about it. But she decides that a good cup of coffee will do the trick, and make him feel better.

She looks down at her wedding ring and brings her hand to her stomach. Finally. It's finally happening for them again. After years of trying and just giving up, they're finally going to have another daughter, or maybe even their first son. Julie will finally be an older sister. Tami smiles. It's everything she's always wanted for her family. But she feels as if it came with a price. She may be having another child, but she's losing her husband in the process. He'll never be here to help her during her pregnancy. He'll never be here to take care of the baby. And it's all because of her. Because she refuses to leave Dillon. Refuses to make herself and Julie start their lives all over again after they've finally found a home in Dillon.

Tami looks at herself in the mirror again and sees a small tear moving down her face. She quickly wipes it away and goes to make her husband his coffee.

--

Julie closes her cell phone and laughs at herself a little bit. She's staying in Dillon, staying with Matt, and she couldn't be any happier. But the laughing soon stops. Just because she's staying doesn't mean things will stay the same. Her dad is still going to TMU. And in a few weeks it will just be her and her mom. And Julie blames herself for it all. She knows she would like Austin, but she doesn't want to leave Dillon. She's so sick and tired of always following her father wherever he goes. And because she's so against the idea, she's splitting her family apart. And in a few months, she'll be a big sister for the first time. And it freaks her out. Matt tries to tell her not worry about it so much, that it will only stress her out. But he doesn't understand what she's going through. And it tears her apart. All of it tears her apart.

Julie's happier than she's even been in her life.

And she can't even enjoy it.

--

Smash wakes up that morning and presses his hand against his shoulder. It may not be in as much pain as before but it still hurts. He sees all the letters hanging on his wall and grabs his State Champion tee-shirt. He breathes a sigh of relief and joy. This will get their attention, he tells himself. He knows that all his dreams are coming true right before his eyes, but Smash still can't shake the feeling he got when he felt his shoulder pop. It scares him. What if he hurts himself again? What if this time it's something that's not so simple to fix? What if his future ends right then and there like it did for Jason? He has no other game plan. He isn't smart like Matt or some of his other teammates. He can't rely on his academic skills to get him to the big leagues, because they just aren't good enough. If he even had a major injury, he's done. Everything he's ever worked for is gone. Forever.

Smash looks at his future spread throughout the walls of his bedroom. And it scares the crap out of him.

--

Matt lies on his bed and tosses his football into the air. He tries not to think about everything, but he just can't believe what's happened to him these past couple of months. He's become QB1 and has shut up every doubter he's ever faced at the State game. He's finally found someone who makes him giddy with joy every time he sees her. And while he still finds himself struggling to get by from time to time, he has people in his life who are there to help whenever he needs it, and they make life easier to get through.

But even with all the good, he still can't enjoy it to the fullest. His father is still in Iraq, and Matt has to worry every single day that someone will knock on his door and tell him his father is dead. His mother still isn't around and doesn't look to be coming back anytime soon. And Coach is still leaving him to go to TMU. And then there's Julie. He loves her more than he's ever loved anyone, but he feels like he might screw up one day and she'll be gone forever. Just like his mom, just like his dad, and just like Coach. The fear of it all makes Matt quickly get up from his bed and run to the bathroom where he throws up. He sits on the floor and tells himself everything will be alright before getting up and getting ready for school.

Matt doesn't want to hide the smile and the joy that he finally has in his life.

But he doesn't want to look at himself in the mirror and watch his smile break the glass either.


	22. Do You Regret What We Did?

**Sequel to previous chapter, _Didn't We Almost Have It All?_

* * *

**

**Do You Regret What We Did?  
**_Coach/Tami/Julie/Smash/Matt, Different parts of Season 2, PG13, 880 words, Title from __**Damages**_

Coach lies on the couch of his new apartment in Austin in his TMU gear, not getting as much sleep as he'd like (he can't sleep on that bed and he can't wear sleep clothes because it brings too much pain). It's 5 am and he tells himself he has to do it today. He has to tell them that he's done today. He has to go back and fix all the mistakes he's made. Leaving Tami to take care of Gracie all by herself, as Julie goes on and does whatever she wants, whenever she wants. His family is falling apart. He did this for them. He took this job so they could better lives. When it did the exact opposite. Even his team is falling apart without him. He watched as Matt and Smash went at it, as their new coach did nothing. Coach wants to throw up. What has he done? What have his dreams done?

Coach tries his hardest to fall asleep, but the regret of even being on this couch in the first place feels like a brick inside his stomach.

--

Tami changes Gracie's diaper on her bed, hearing the sound of Julie coming inside the house, slamming the door in the process. Then all she hears is footsteps. And it brings Tami to tears. Everything brings Tami Taylor to tears these days. How could she let this happen? Why did she tell her husband no? Why didn't she bother trying to fight for him to stay in Dillon? Why did she go into such rage that she had to slap her daughter across the face?

She wants to pick up that phone. Tell Eric to come home. Tell him everything she's wanted to say but couldn't get the courage to actually say it. She wants to tell Julie that she's sorry for what she did. Sorry for being the reason why her family is completely broken. But she can't. Because Julie won't listen to her. She can't call her husband either. She has to be strong. For this family, for Gracie, for herself.

She goes to bed that night, regretting never picking up that phone. She'll feel the same thing tomorrow night. And the night after that. And the night after that.

--

Julie sits in the cafeteria with Tyra that afternoon. Tyra's talking about this or that, Julie isn't exactly sure because her full attention is towards Matt. Who's sitting a few tables away with Landry. His head's lying on the table. She can't tell if he looks sick, or if he's crying, or anything, because Landry is right there next to him, completely blocking her view. But she knows what's going on. And she knows it's all her fault. If she would of never taken that job at the pool, if she would of just told him 'yes', or would have been there when he needed her to be, she wouldn't be wondering what was wrong, she'd be there next to him saying everything was going to be alright.

Julie looks down at her food and doesn't feel hungry anymore. All she feels is regret.

--

Smash stands in the empty locker room and can't help but let his emotions overcome him. He can't believe this is happening. Can't believe he let some prick get to him. Now everything is gone. His entire future. Gone. Just like that. He has no game plan, has no idea what to do now. He's worried all this time that an injury would ruin everything. He never expected this. Maybe he should have.

He just prays that the team can get to the playoffs. So he can show TMU what kind of man he is. So he can show everyone just what kind of man he is. And maybe, just maybe, he can get a second chance. He deserves a second chance.

But for right now, all he wants to show is his regret in this empty locker room.

--

Matt lets the water rain down on him from above, his drenched clothes sticking to his body. Coach is outside in the living room, giving Matt some time to himself. His body shivers, and the tears are still rolling down his face, though not as bad as before.

Why? Why must he always make mistakes? They always cost him in the end. He can never do anything right. He always screws up. Screws up at practice. Screws up at work. Screws up in his relationships. Screws up at taking care of his grandmother. He's a failure. It's no wonder people can't stand being around him. It's no wonder that they'd rather with better people, at better jobs, or facing death every day in a foreign country. Every bad thing that's ever happened in his life was his own fault.

His body is numb now. He can't feel the water anymore. All he feels is regret. Regret for driving his parents away, regret for never fighting for Julie when the Swede came along, regret for becoming attached to Carlotta, regret for giving Coach a reason to take the job at TMU, and regret for just never being good enough.

He feels the tears coming down his face again. This is going to be a long night.


	23. My Best Friend's Mistake

**My Best Friend's Mistake**  
_Matt/Landry, Post-Leave No One Behind, PG13, 1354 words, Title from __**Scrubs**_

How do you tell your best friend you murdered someone… and got away with it? And how do you tell him without sounding like you're insane or making it all up? And just exactly why has it taken you so long to do it anyway?

Landry wondered all these questions as he sat on Matt's couch and watched TV while Matt got them some food. He couldn't do it here, he couldn't do it now. He needed to think this through before setting his plan in motion.

--

How do you tell your best friend what happen that night with Coach Taylor? How do you tell him why you've been acting strange lately without breaking down right there in front of him? And how do you do it all without putting some of the blame on him for never being around as much as he used to be?

Matt wondered all these questions and he stood in the kitchen and got himself and Landry some ice cream. He couldn't do it here, he couldn't do it now. He needed to think this through before setting his plan in motion.

--

Landry sat in his new car as he waited for Matt to get his slow ass out of the locker room. He thought about his plan for days and this seemed like the only way to do it. And whatever kind of funk Matt was in seemed like it was gone. Landry thought it would make everything easier.

Once Matt came out, Landry quickly drove him home and got out of the car when he pulled up to Matt's house.

"You mind if I come inside for a bit?"

"Uh, sure. I guess." Matt was confused, but didn't ask any questions.

They both walked inside the house in silence. Matt threw his bags into his bedroom and made his way into the kitchen while Landry sat down on the couch. Grandma noticed that he seemed a little tense.

"Are you doing okay over there?" she asked him.

"Yeah… I'm fine."

"Well, okay then." She got up from her chair. "I'll leave you boys be."

And with that, she was in her bedroom and Matt took her spot on the chair. He stared at Landry for a while, wondering if he was ever going to say anything, because it damn sure looked like he had to.

"Are you alright? You look a little sick over there."

Landry propped his elbows up so he was sitting up straighter on the couch. He looked right at Matt's face.

"I have to tell you something."

"Um, okay. What… what is it?" Matt was feeling nervous. The last time there was this tense atmosphere around them, Landry told him someone attacked Tyra.

"It's… um…" Landry began breathing heavier and heavier. He began to feel his hand shake.

"After I tell you this, if you want nothing to do with me ever again, I understand."

Matt was getting freaked out. What the hell was going on?

"Okay, what is going on here? You're starting to freak me out and I don't like it."

Landry took one huge breathe, closed his eyes, covered his ears with his hands, and began talking.

"Me and Tyra went to the store that night. The same night you were at that lake party and Julie ditched you. I went inside to get some food because Tyra couldn't go in. And when… when I came out, he was there. The guy who attacked Tyra was back. So I went after him. We got into a fight and he punched me and threw me to the ground. I could hear him tell Tyra he'd be back for her. And that's when I did it. I picked up the pipe I saw lying on the ground and I hit him as hard as I could with it. Right in the head. I did it twice." Landry could feel the tears pouring out of his eyes. Matt was frozen in his seat. He couldn't move a muscle as Landry confessed his soul to him.

"We tried taking him to the hospital but he was already dead. I killed him. I killed someone. And we freaked. We were over a bridge and knew what we had to do. They found his body a few weeks later, so I confessed. Told the police I killed the guy. Told them everything. And they let me go. I got away with murdering someone. You're best friend is a murderer Matt." He put his hands away from his ears and wiped the tears away from his face and looked Matt right in the eyes. "So if you don't want anything to do with me, because I'm a murderer, then you don't have to. I'm sorry."

Landry looked at Matt, wanting, hoping, that he would say something. Anything. But he just sat there and looked at the floor. Didn't move, didn't say one word. Then he got up and ran to the bathroom. Landry could hear him puking through the walls and felt his own stomach crawl. He thought he'd feel better, coming out and telling him everything, but now… now he felt worse.

He watched as Matt walked into his bedroom from the side door and got up to make sure he was alright. Matt quickly threw his hand up.

"Just… I don't feel so good. Just… just go home. I'll…. I'll call you later."

Landry knew he wasn't going to get anything out of him, so he walked towards the front door and left. Matt waited until he heard Landry's car drive off before he covered his face with his pillow. Just when things were starting to feel like normal again, this had to happen. He let every emotion out before deciding what to do next. He wanted to tell him about what happened with Coach, but he couldn't now. And he didn't know when it would happen either. But for right now he needed to think about everything Landry told him. He couldn't just stop being his friend. That wouldn't be fair, or right. He knows Landry would stick by his side if he did the same thing, so he had no right not to do the same. It was a mistake. His best friend made a big, big mistake. And he wasn't going to let him deal with the consequences alone.

--

Matt picked up his cell phone a few hours later and called Landry. Told him to come back over so they could talk. Once he hung up, Matt got up from the bed and walked to his front door. When Landry arrived, he walked out towards his car and sat in the passenger seat. They didn't speak for a while.

"You could have told me… you know?" Matt told him. "You didn't have to hide it from me."

"I wanted to. I really wanted to. But I couldn't. I was scared."

"I would have helped you. Stood by your side. You know I would. You didn't have to go through that all by yourself."

Landry felt another tear come down his face, but luckily it was dark in the car and Matt couldn't see it.

"So… you're not mad? You don't hate me for what I did."

"You saved someone's life. That guy could have killed her. He could have killed you too. I would have done the same thing if it was… if it was Julie." Matt wiped away the tears he could feel coming from his eyes as well. He didn't even want to picture that scenario.

"I know… I know." Landry said. He breathed deeply for the new few moments. Filled with relief that Matt didn't hate him.

"So… still best friends?" Landry then asked.

Matt considered the question.

"Yeah… I don't see why not." He then started laughing.

"You can be such an asshole sometimes."

"Wanna get something to eat. I'm starving." Matt asked, completely ignoring Landry's comment.

"Sure. Just make sure you get that QB1 discount. I don't have any cash on me."

Matt laughed again as Landry started his car and drove off.


	24. Long Term Parking

**Continuation of "Irregular Around the Margins"

* * *

Long Term Parking  
**_Julie/Brett/Matt/Landry, Post-Irregular Around The Margins, PG13, 1302 words, Title from __**the Sopranos**_

Brett watched Matt the next day at practice. Every movement he made, Brett made a mental picture of. Something was up with him. Something was up with him and Julie. He didn't know what it was. But he knew something was up. And he had to figure it out. As soon as possible.

So he waited outside after practice for Matt. No time like the present.

"Hey Matt," he shouted. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"What's up? What's going on?"

"What's going on with you and Julie?"

"Excuse me?"

"She came to my house yesterday crying her eyes out because of you. Because of what you did. And I wanna know what it was." Brett began shouting at Matt, in front of everyone around them.

"I didn't do anything to her. You need to get your facts straight Brett. It' not like that at all." Matt began to walk away. Brett didn't know what to say back.

Landry watched as Matt forcefully slammed the car door.

"What was that all about?"

"Just be quiet and drive me home."

"Okay."

Landry drove Matt home in silence.

--

Brett ran his hand through Julie's hair, as he kissed her cheeks, lips, neck. He wanted Julie all to himself. And he wasn't going to let Matt take her away. He could go fuck himself for all he cared.

"My mom and Dan are out for the night. I don't know when they're coming back. You could… come inside, watch a movie or something."

"Sure."

Once the movie began, Brett's plan went into motion. He began kissing her again, but this time moved his hand under her shirt, making his way for her breast. But before he could get there, Julie pushed him away. He stopped, sitting up on the couch, about five seconds away from flipping out on her.

"Is there something I'm doing wrong here?"

"What are you talking about?"

"What does Matt have that I don't? Is that why you're always with him now?"

"_Always with him?_ I'm sorry but you're freaking out over something that isn't even that big of a deal."

"I'm sorry, I just –"

"You know what… can you just take me home? I'm not in the mood to talk about this subject."

"Fine."

Julie quickly got up from the couch and walked out. Brett was soon behind.

She didn't kiss him goodbye that night.

--

Julie found Matt at his locker the next morning and quickly walked up to him.

"Hey, can we talk for a second?"

"Sure, what's going on? How are you?"

"I'm doing alright. How are you? You doing okay?"

"Yeah. As good as I can be. I guess."

"Okay. I just wanna make sure you're okay. Because I don't think we should be talking to each other."

"Is this because of Brett?"

"I just don't want him getting freaked over nothing."

"And not talking to me anymore is the best way to solve that problem?"

"Well I –"

"You know what… fine. You rather not talk to me anymore because you don't want to upset your boyfriend, than that's okay. I don't care. I'll just remind myself not to talk to you when I have a girlfriend. You know, don't wanna get her upset over nothing."

Matt slammed his locker shut and walked off.

--

Julie and Brett walked into the party that night and headed straight for the bar. Julie didn't tell Brett about her talk with Matt earlier that day. He'd really get upset over that. And it just wasn't worth it.

"You want anything?" Brett asked as he grabbed the Vodka bottle.

"Not right now."

"Okay then." Brett poured the contents of the bottle into a shot glass and drank it.

Julie looked around and saw Matt sitting with Landry. He knew she was there, but wouldn't make any kind of eye contact with her. She didn't expect him to either.

--

About an hour after arriving at the party, Julie lost track of both Matt and Brett and was surprised to find her slightly drunk self playing quarters with Bradley.

"See, I'm a pro at this. Can't beat me." She said to him.

"I haven't even tried yet. You just wait."

Julie began laughing, before getting up from her chair. "I'll give you some time to practice. It's a little claustrophobic in here. I'm gonna go outside for a second."

Julie went outside to find Matt standing at the side of the deck, just staring at her. She started walking towards him.

"Wow," he shouted at her. "First me… then Swede… then Brett… and now Bradley. You sure do get around a lot." He went back to drinking his beer, completely unaware of what he even said to her. And even if he did, it wasn't like he cared anyway.

Julie on the other hand, was completely aware of what he said. She couldn't believe he would say something like that to her.

"What did you just say to me?" she screamed.

"I guess dumping me had its advantages. I should have never even bothered trying to become friends with you again. What a waste."

Julie felt her blood boil. If he wanted to throw around nasty comments, then she could do the same.

"You shouldn't have bothered? I'm the one who shouldn't have bothered. It obviously didn't do me any good considering the fact that you screwed two different girls right afterwards. You know what… you're just a jealous, pathetic, piece of crap!"

By now, everyone outside stopped what they were doing and watched as Matt and Julie went at it. Word quickly spread to the partygoers inside the house.

"I'm pathetic. Wow. You are so fucking original. You come up with that all by yourself? Let's me remind you that it was YOU who cheated on ME! So I'm not going to stand here and apologize for hooking up with a few other girls, I'm not gonna regret doing what I did, because I tried fixing what YOU BROKE! And I hope you feel upset over it too BECAUSE NOW YOU KNOW HOW I FEEL! Now you know what it feels like to have someone you love break your heart."

Landry found his way outside and tried to break this fight up before it got even uglier than it already was.

"Matt… that's enough."

Matt pushed Landry away from him and then turned all his anger towards him.

"And you… you have no room to talk. You call me your best friend but you're just like everyone else. You come and go whenever you want. Rather be in your own little world with Tyra, doing whatever you two want than actually be with me. Help me with my problems. I need you. And you weren't there. YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THERE! So you know what, screw you."

Matt walked away from everyone and left the yard from the side gate. Landry began chasing after him.

All eyes were now fixed on Julie who couldn't help but cry. Brett ran out to find her there alone, and quickly took her home.

Brett sat in his car once he pulled up to his house. It was pretty clear all his fears about Julie dumping him for Matt weren't even true. He drove himself crazy over nothing. And now he's screwed everything up. The situation between the three of them wasn't exactly perfect, and he had to go and make it worse. Julie won't speak to him, Matt hates him, and soon so will everyone else. He was just like his car was, sitting in the driveway: stuck on park with no where to go, no way to move forward. But he had to try, had to try and fix things. Or all three of them were doomed.


	25. Sort Of Like A Family

**Sort Of Like A Family**  
_Matt/Coach/Tami, Leave No One Behind, PG13, 770 words, Title from __**Damages**_,_ Also written for the FNL Laundry List (Challenge 25, Prompt #1)_

_There's nothing wrong with you. There's nothing wrong with you at all._

Coach felt the anger inside him leave his body with every word he spoke. At first he thought Matt was being an out of control teenager. But it was so much more. This was a kid who was pushed to his breaking point. The weight of the world was just too much for him to bear any longer.

Coach looked down at Matt as the water continued to pour down on him. His hands were covering his face, so that Coach couldn't see him cry but already knew he was. Coach moved his shaking hand off of the metal pole that held the shower curtain, and quickly turned the water off. He was already punished enough.

"You get yourself up, and get out of those clothes. I wanna talk to you when you done."

Coach left the bathroom as Matt still sat in the tub. After a while he finally got up, the water dripping off of his clothes and onto the floor. He slowly walked to his room and shut the door behind him. Carefully, he took his coat off, throwing in near the corner of the room so it wouldn't get anything else wet. When he finally got clean and dry clothes on, he walked out into the living room, finding Coach waiting for him on the couch. Matt slowly sat down next to him, without looking or even speaking to him. Coach looked away before finally saying something.

"You listen to me – there is nothing wrong with you. Nothing that has happened to you has ever been your fault. Starting now, I want you to stop believing that. There are people out there who care about you. And they will always be there for you, you know that." Matt finally looked Coach in the face. After leaving him before, Matt didn't know whether to take what he said honestly. But the intensity he saw in his eyes told him the truth. "I may have made some bad decisions in the past, but I am here for you. And if you ever… ever need me, all you gotta do is ask and I'll be there. I can promise you that. You got me?"

Matt barely nodded his head yes, feeling like he might cry again at any moment.

"Okay, good." Coach got up from the couch and began to make his way towards the door, before turning around and speaking to Matt again.

"What's the situation with that car of yours?"

"I'm getting a ride with Landry while it gets fixed."

"You know what, I'll come by tomorrow and you can ride with me. Okay?"

Matt once again, just nodded his head yes.

"C'mere." Coach said to him. Matt got up from the couch and was surprised when Coach gave him a hug. "You're a good kid. I don't wanna see you struggle. Now you get some rest, and I'll see you in the morning."

"I will. Thanks Coach."

"You bet 'cha."

Matt watched as Coach left and drove off. He quietly shut the door and turned all the lights off in the house, before walking into his room, falling on his bed, and passing out almost instantly. Things were going to change. They had to change. Or else he wouldn't last much longer.

--

Just like he promised, Coach came the next morning to pick him up. After practice he gave Matt a hard look as he gave him a pass to go see a certain guidance counselor.

Matt went to see Mrs. Taylor and sat in her office for an hour and a half. He talked. She listened. Not like a counselor, but like a mother. Like his mother. But it made Matt more upset. Where is his mother? Why isn't she here taking Mrs. Taylor's place? Matt knew that she's the one who hurt him the most. And it was tearing him apart.

Mrs. Taylor hugged Matt before he leaves left. Told him everything was going to be okay.

"You're like a son to him," she told him. "And to me."

"Sort of like a family, huh."

She laughed as she rubbed Matt's shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

Matt stood up to leave and hugged Mrs. Taylor again.

"Thanks Mrs.… Coach." He began laughing. That's not what he had in mind. But he knew it was okay when she began laughing with him.

"You're welcome QB1."

Matt left a few minutes later with a smile on his face. Things were going to change. And they were going to be for the best.


	26. Made in America

**Made in America**  
_Ensemble, No time period, PG, 1072 words, Title from __**the Sopranos**_

_America. The land of the free. The home of the brave. The place where all your dreams come true. And where football is king. Especially in Texas. America's heartland. It's a whole new ballgame in Texas. And it's not the big leagues that drive these people. No, they live, they breathe, they die with high school football. Under those Friday night lights.__  
_

**I don't want to be anywhere but here.**

Coach adjusts his coat and places the headphones on his ears. He's been waiting for this night for weeks. It was his first game as head coach of the Dillon Panthers. He couldn't be any more nervous. He felt his hand shake as it held onto his clipboard.

He began looking around the field. His players. Those in the stands. They were prepared. They were ready. It was time.

Coach felt his hand stop shaking. Everything was in slow motion, no one moving, no one saying anything except for him. He breathed deep, and let it all out.

This was his life. This was his dream. And he didn't want to be anywhere else but here on this field.

**I wish I could just quit.**

Matt painfully got out of the shower and saw the bruises all over his body. All from football of course. He sighs as he walks into his room. Ever since he took over as QB1, it felt like things got tougher. Even the simplest task like getting dressed in the morning was a struggle. He doesn't understand why he should bother. No one believes he can do this. He doesn't even believe in himself. Things would just be easier if someone else took over. Or if he just quit.

Man, wouldn't that be nice?

**I don't get why this is such a big deal.**

Tyra sits in the cafeteria as a few players pass her by. She rolls her eyes. Nothing but a bunch of dumb-ass jocks. Tim's with them as usual. She feels the vomit forming in her stomach. She would never understand what she saw in him (but she'd never deny that the sex was amazing). She would never understand what the obsession over football was about either. To her, it was just some stupid game that had absolutely no lasting appeal. But being at the game was a good way to kill time on an otherwise boring Friday night. Tyra feels her skin crawl at the thought. She needs to find a hobby.

Not only that, but she can't wait to leave this place and never come back. But she can't shake the feeling that she'll miss everything when she's gone.

Tyra stands up and walks out of the cafeteria. She just lost her appetite.

**I'm living out my dream.**

Smash can't wipe the huge grin off his face as he's getting ready for the game. He looks at himself in the mirror he has on his locker door and his smile gets even bigger. Damn, I am beautiful, he says to himself. Except he says it out loud for everyone to hear. Some of his teammates talk trash, saying all he does is talk, talk, talk, while some of the others just roll their eyes. Smash doesn't let it fade him though. They're just jealous that the Smash has what they all want. He's a star. And all his dreams are coming true right before his eyes. He'll be in the NFL in a few years and all these guys will really be jealous.

Smash takes one more look at himself before shutting his locker and putting his helmet on. He knows he always talks the talk, but he can walk the walk better than anyone in Texas, hell, better than anyone in America.

Time to go and prove it.

**I have this when I don't have anything else.**

Tim takes his helmet off and shakes his hair around as he walks back to the locker room. Finally. He was finally back on the field. It brought him peace when nothing else did. The bad decisions and the lack of parental advisement brought him nothing but pain. Pain that the countless number of girls and beer bottles couldn't completely heal. But that field, that field took it all away. For a few hours each day, and especially on those Friday nights, every pain, every problem, was gone. Nothing mattered more than tackling the shit out of someone on the other team. It brings a smile to his face.

But the smile soon leaves as he makes his way to his truck after getting showered and dressed. Time to go back to the pain.

**I wish I could be anyone but me.**

Julie watches her dad sit on his chair and watch his football tapes. She can't speak to him, because she knows he won't listen. Can't talk to mom either since she's off at book club. Before Julie even realizes what hit her, she has tears falling down her eyes. She quickly gets up and rushes towards her room.

It's not fair. Why can't she be a normal teenager, with normal parents? But no, she can't. She's the coach's daughter. Football will run her life forever.

She wishes… that for just one day… someone else could take her place.

**I wish I was out there.**

Landry sits in his cars and waits. Just like he did yesterday, just like he'll do tomorrow. It's not that he doesn't like driving his best friend to practice (the fact that he still associates with him is a plus), but rather, he wants to be inside with him in that locker room. And not like_ that_. Landry wishes that he was on the team. That he was a Panther. Because he's sick of being in the stands. Sick of being labeled as "QB1's BFF" instead of by his actual name (even Coach can't get it right). And just sick and tired of never being noticed. Landry knows that if he put every ounce of energy into it, he could get the job done.

But when he watches Matt and the others walk out like the tight groups of friends that they are, he sighs.

Maybe it's better off just being a dream then ever turning into reality.

_The stands are filled now. The lights are bright. The air is cool. Everyone's ready for the Panthers to take to the field._

_This is the dream. This is America._


	27. Kung Fu Fighting

**Kung Fu Fighting**  
_Matt/Landry, May The Best Man Win, PG, 947 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**_

Dodgeball. Where the strong can easily enjoy taking out the weak without consequences. Coach Taylor decided it would be a good, fun exercise instead of being outside practicing for their game on Friday. They were playing South Pine after all. Why even waste the effort. So he let them play two days in a row. They'd get some practice in on Friday morning and they'd be good to go.

After the first game, the guys took a break before going at it again. This time Landry found Matt on the other side of the court and quickly got his game face on. He can see it now, grabbing a ball and just hitting Matt right in the face with it. That would show him not to make stupid comments about him and Tyra, when he had no idea what the entire story was. The sick pleasure of knocking his best friend out brought a smile to his face. He didn't care about anyone else, Matt was his. And he was done.

Mac blew this whistle as some of the others ran to get the balls. Landry stood in the background and waited for his time to strike, keeping both of his eyes solely on Matt, paying attention to every move he made, and knowing when to attack before someone else got him instead.

After a few minutes, there were only a few left. Now, Landry thought. Now was the time. So without even thinking of his surroundings, he grabbed the closest ball he could fall and aimed it right in Matt's general direction. And the ball hit its target with ease. Landry watched as Matt fell back, the ball making contact with his stomach, knocking the wind right of out him. Matt struggled to stand up as he tried to catch his breath.

"Suck it up Matt," Landry yelled. He couldn't get rid of the smile on his face. The dirty look Matt gave him on the way to the bench made his smile even bigger.

Maybe now he'll think before he talks.

--

The tension between the two of them in the locker room after was high. Matt was pissed. It may have been fun and games but Landry crossed the line. He tried to mention this as they left the field house.

"Was that really necessary – you hitting me like that? That wasn't cool at all, man."

"Well, that's dodgeball for you my friend. And that look on your face when I got you – priceless. I'm going to remember this day forever. You remember that the next time you wanna talk trash about me and Tyra."

"Are you serious? You did that because of what I said? Wow, you take things way too seriously. Asshole."

"I think you're the one taking things too seriously. You talked trash, so you paid for it. And besides, it's just a stupid game. No need to cry over it."

And what that, Matt threw his bags to the ground and tackled Landry from behind. The rest of the team watched in confusion as the two of them went at it.

"Say you're sorry." Matt screamed, as Landry dug his hand into Matt's face.

"I have nothing to be sorry about." Landry screamed back and he regained his balance and grabbed Matt in a headlock.

"You say you're sorry. Say it Matt!"

Matt pushed Landry back into his truck to try and break free but it was no use. Tim stood by his own truck and looked at Santiago. They couldn't help but laugh. And feel slightly embarrassed they were here watching these two fight. All they did was pushed each other around. No punching, no kicking, none of that.

"Wow, this is sad," Tim told Santiago.

"It's like… I can't even describe what I'm seeing. It's that bad." Santiago told him. He doesn't know Matt or Landry as well as some of the others, but he knows they can throw down pretty damn good if they're provoked enough. This wasn't really one of those times.

"Alright, time to break this up." Tim said. He walked over towards Matt and Landry and broke them apart.

"Alright ladies, time to stop the catfight."

Matt tried to regain his breath as he stared Landry down. Tim noticed his eye was swollen.

"Wow, Lando, nice shot. You might wanna put some ice on that eye, Seven."

Matt grabbed his bags and got inside Landry's car. He did need a ride home from him after all, since he doubted anyone else would do it after he made a fool of himself in front of them. They didn't speak to each other until Landry pulled up to Matt's house.

"Alright, how bout we settle this thing the old fashion way. Either you can be the asshole in this situation and get out of the car, or you can come over my house and play me in Guitar Hero. If you win, I'll say I'm sorry I hit you like that and… I'll do whatever you want me to do for a week. Now… if I win, you have to say you're sorry for talking about me and Tyra, for trying to fight me in the parking lot, and… you have to do whatever I tell you to do for a week. So, you game?"

Matt looked at Landry and then at his house.

"Sometimes I really do hate you."

"That's the spirit." Landry began driving off towards his house.

Matt kicked his ass in Guitar Hero. But apologized for what he said the next night during the game by allowing Landry to get a touchdown and impress his girl. They were best friends after all.


	28. What Have I Done To Deserve This?

**What Have I Done To Deserve This?**  
_Jason, Eyes Wide Open, PG13, 295 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**_

He lies on the hospital bed, tries to open his eyes, but his entire body is so weak he just can't do it. Everything is a blur. One second he's throwing the ball and the next he's laying here. He tries to remember what happened, pictures getting on a stretcher and having people flip him on his stomach. It's too much to bear. _Can't_ _think._ _Gotta get up. Gotta get out of this bed._

But something isn't right.

_What the hell, what the hell._ _Why won't my legs move?_ _Oh my God, oh my God_.

He tries to calm down, tries to breath slowly again. Maybe this is all just some twisted, screwed up dream, he thinks. He'll wake up in a little while and everything will be okay again. But he feels the tubes up his nose, the IV needle sticking into his arm and realizes that he's wide awake. This ain't a dream. This is really really real.

He pulls the blanket up so that his feet are sticking out. He stares at them, tries not to panic, and then closes his eyes. _They'll move, they got to, c'mon toes, wiggle for me_. He doesn't feel anything, so he opens his eyes and tries to do it that way. Maybe this time it'll work. But it doesn't.

He feels the tears coming out of his eyes. Tries to wipe them away with his fingers, but something isn't right about them either. He can't spread his fingers apart all the way like he's supposed too. Now he's really freaking out. How did this happen to him? Why did this happen? What did he do wrong to deserve this?

The tears are still falling from his face. He tries his hardest to wipe them away.


	29. Red In The Face

**Red in the Face**  
_Jason Street, Nevermind, PG13, 307 words, Title from __**Mad Men**_

5:59 am. Lying on the bed, wide awake. He hates morning where he gets up a minute or two before the alarm goes off. But it's whatever now. It takes forever to get in the chair (sometimes it doesn't take so long but he's feeling pretty lazy today), but he gets in it without problem and heads to the garage and works out. Feeling that upper body burn. Damn this feels good at 6:30 in the morning. Just like old times.

He's feeling the hot water pour down on him in the shower when he realizes he wants to listen to some Nirvana. _Nevermind_, in particular.

He gets dressed faster than usual, and looks around his room. Can't find it. Must be in the living room with everything else. He checks and still can't find it.

_Where's my Nevermind CD?_

Mom's no help. She doesn't sound like she cares much either.

_Can't you just get it on the computer?_

For some reason, this sets him off. Throws all the CDs all over the floor. Gets all red in the face when he stares his mom down, waiting for her to cave in. And it doesn't happen. She ain't putting up with this shit, and doesn't even need to tell him to get that point across.

He kinda growls a little bit at himself. He has no other choice but to buy another one. Which he does. Wheels the four miles to the record store, getting even more pissed off because he thinks they might not have it. But they do. He kisses the damn thing, he's so happy.

Then he turns and sees Lyla, heading for the next aisle.

_Well would you look at that!_

He's kinda glad he had to come and get another CD. Because he's feeling a little more than happy right about now.


	30. The Fortuneteller

**The Fortuneteller  
**_Matt/Julie/Landry, Post-Season One, PG13, 586 words, Title from __**Avatar**_

Mid April. Austin. Some Chinese restaurant. That's when his entire life flashed before his eyes.

_**While demise may be in your future, your soul can only be relinquished in death.**_

He looked at the little slip of paper that came with his fortune cookie and quickly threw it in his pocket. It was a really bad idea to come here. Really bad. He knew going somewhere else would be better.

"You okay over there, son. Looks like you seen a damn ghost."

"Uh… I'm fine."

He didn't sleep well that night (even though the 2 hour ride home should have knocked him out). He knew not to take it too seriously, but it really freaked him out.

--

"Matt! Matt!" Landry stood at the front door, but decided to let himself in when no one else was going to do it. He walked right to Matt's room and opened the door. Landry looked to find Matt still lying in bed.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not going to school today. That's what I'm doing."

"I can see that. Why not?"

"Because. I'm just not."

"Wow, that's a great excuse right there. Wanna clarify that a little more?"

Matt was getting aggravated. But he might as well just tell the truth.

"I have a bad feeling about today."

"Uh hun. Keep going."

"Like I might die."

Landry burst into laughter. Matt leaned up and stared at him.

"I'm being serious. I'm not going to school today."

"Will you listen to yourself? You sound like a crazy man. You know what, how about you get up, come to school, and if you still feel all weird, you can leave. I'll give you my car keys. Just, you gotta pick me up when school is over. You cool with that?"

Matt fell back and buried his face in his pillow.

"Fine. Get out so I can get dressed."

"Good man."

Landry and Matt left for school about fifteen minutes later, just making it before the bell for homeroom rung. Matt felt fine until 3 period in his History class. That when he began to feel freaked out, that at any moment something would happen and his life would be over. It wasn't the best start to anyone's day really.

Afterwards, Matt found Julie and Landry waiting for him at his locker.

"So you doing alright so far?" Landry asked.

"Alright? What are you talking about?"

"Tell her Matt. Tell her what you told me."

"Nothing. It's nothing. Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Really."

"Tell me what? Are you okay?"

Matt tried to brush her questions off. He didn't want her to get involved in his stupid little freak out session.

Then the three of them hear 3 loud bangs coming right for them. Everyone around them began to panic. They weren't sure what was going on, but Landry grabbed Julie and Matt and threw them all into an empty classroom and locked the door behind him.

"What the hell was that?" A panic stricken Julie screamed.

"I have no idea. We'll be fine in here. We're fine." He grabbed onto her hand, and moved away from the door, so no one could see them inside. They heard the lockdown code in the loudspeaker a few moments later. Landry looked at Matt with fear.

"You just had to say you were gonna die today didn't you?"

They heard another loud bang. And then another.

Matt looked back at Landry, tear rolling down his eye.

"I told you."

_/tbc/_


	31. Mistakes Were Made

**Mistakes Were Made**  
_Coach/Tami/Julie/Smash/Matt, post-Season Two, PG13, 753 words, Title from __**Brothers & Sisters  
**_

_"Mistakes were made"_

_President Ronald Reagan said those words twenty years ago in a time when admitting a mistake was perceived as a sign of strength._

_I made a mistake._

Coach sits on his chair and rocks back and forth as Gracie sleeps on his chest. It's late, he can't sleep. But Gracie Belle is out like a light. Coach looks up at the clock. 12 am on the dot.

"Happy Birthday baby girl."

He lightly kisses her on her head. What a year this has been. From being at and then leaving TMU, to the growing problems with Julie and Shelley, to dealing with his players when they were at their absolute worst, it was a lot for him to handle. And while he always, ALWAYS tried to do the right thing, fix the problems they were created, he feels like he didn't do a good enough job. Should have known to see most of it coming too. Should have been prepared. Sometimes he thinks he might have made those problems worse by getting involved. Sometimes he thinks it's better to just mind your own damn business.

And now, sitting here with Gracie, all those problems are going to start all over again. And now that Julie is getting ready for college, it's only going to get worse. He's ready for it now. Knows it's all going to come for him head on.

He'll admit he made mistakes. And that he'll try his hardest not to make the same mistake twice.

--

Tami hangs up the phone with the new newspaper advisor and English teacher for the new school year. The woman who's taking Mr. Barnett's place, after he packed up and the end of last school year and took off. She doesn't know where's he going or what he's doing. She doesn't even want to either. It's all her fault too, that he's gone. Just one of the many mistakes she's made this past year.

Maybe its good all these bad things happened, she thinks. Because now she knows better. Knows when to say no and stick to it, knows when it's a good idea to really think about something before she does it, and knows that her daughter is growing up and won't be the perfect child anymore.

She'll admit she made mistakes. And she'll cross her fingers and pray it doesn't happen again.

--

Julie lies in bed and stares at the wall. She feels Matt arms wrap around her naked body and she smiles. Her stares at the wall with her.

"What are you thinking about?" he says.

Where to even start, she tells herself. It was just this time last year she was hanging with Swedish guys, leaving her boyfriend to wonder whether the love of his life was cheating on her. That was a mistake. Or all the times she got into a fight with her mother for no reason. That was a mistake too. The list in Julie's head in never ending. She's made mistakes every single day. And had to pay for them every single day. Problem is, she never knew what she was doing was wrong until it was too late.

"I made a mistake. I – I made a mistake." She says.

He breathes into her hair. He knows that feeling. Knows he's made his own fair share of mistakes in the past.

"We all make mistakes. You just gotta learn from them and move on. Start fresh." He kisses the top of her head.

"Start fresh. That sounds good."

They've both made mistakes, and are now starting fresh at the exact same place. They wouldn't have it any other way.

--

Smash sits in the locker room and gets his mind under control. He's so nervous he wants to puke. Doesn't even understand why. This is Whitmore, not TMU. And he knows it would be TMU if he wasn't such an idiot. He's admitted he made a mistake. He's admitted a lot of things this past year. And never in his wildest dreams did he imagine he'd be here, getting ready for his first college football game.

He thinks its good, being here at Whitmore. That he'll be able to put all his effort into the things that are important to him. And not spend time looking for ways his entire future can once again become ruined.

He's learned from his mistakes and has come out a better man. He thanks God for getting the chance to do that every single day.


	32. Six Days

**Six Days (AKA - The Six Days It Took Matt and Julie To Get Back Together)  
**_Matt/Julie, Post-May The Best Man Win, NC-17, 3458 words, Title from __**Grey's Anatomy**_

**Day One – In the bedroom you go.**

Everyone's at a party that's on a Monday night. And if they could be honest with you, they'd all say this party is extremely lame. The music choices suck, the alcohol is practically non-existent, and no one wants to do anything except sit or stand around in their own self-pity. It was a sad sight to see. And just who the fuck throws a party on a Monday night anyway?

Tyra's standing at the bar with Smash, just talking about this or that. It's not that important. They'll forget all about it in the morning. Smash sees Matt sitting on the couch looking lonely. But he's hardcore staring at Julie, who's on the other side of the room talking to one of her dance friends.

"Look at him. Can you tell her wants her?"

Tyra looks and knows what he's talking about, because it's so dead fucking obvious that Matt wants her back. And Tyra thinks its dead fucking obvious that Julie wants Matt back, too. Smash can sense a plan forming in Tyra's eyes.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asks.

"Yep."

Tyra nudges her way in between Julie and her dance friend, not noticing the confused look on both of their faces.

"Hey, Jules. I think I left my phone upstairs somewhere. Mind helping me look for it?" Tyra smiles, trying to look as innocent as possible.

Julie nods her head yes, and follows Tyra. It's not like she has anything else to do.

"Hey Matty, I got something to show ya. Get your ass up."

Matt's confused but he follows Smash. It's not like he has anything else to do.

Tyra and Julie are the first to get upstairs. Tyra tells Julie to look in one room while she looks in the other. Julie takes the one on the far right and shuts the door behind her. Tyra goes next door and shuts the door slightly. She sees Smash and Matt come up, and makes eye contact with Smash.

"It's in here." Smash opens the door to the room Julie is in and throws Matt inside before shutting the door and holding onto the door handle. He can feel Matt try to open it but after a while he just stops trying. Smash and Tyra laugh and walk back downstairs. Success!

Matt turns around and notices Julie.

"Uh… hi?" She says, like she has no clue what's going on, but it's not right to gawk at him like he's some famous movie star that she has a crush on or some insane shit like that.

"Hey," he says back with a slight laugh. He scratches the back of his neck and paces back and forth. He knows Smash did this on purpose, because everyone knows he wants Julie Taylor back. Like, really wants her back. The kind of want where he just wants to throw her on that bed and run his hands all over her body before he takes her clothes off, fucks her, moans her name for the entire world to hear.

Yeah, something like that.

"So… how are you?" he asks.

"I'm good. And I'm supposedly helping Tyra find her phone. Which...I guess isn't up here after all."

Julie pauses, searching for words. She feels kinda stupid just standing here without anything to say.

"This party's kinda lame."

"Yeah, it is." He smiles at her. She damn near dies. She imagines him touching her, running his thick hands slowly over her soft skin as he whispers in her ear, "_Julie, Julie, Julie_." God, the thought makes her shiver, and before she knows it she says, "I miss you". Like out loud. And with this sad, pathetic tone of voice too. She sounds desperate.

"I miss you too." He says. He doesn't stutter, doesn't say it in any weird tone. Just comes out and says it like a man. He has his hand in his back pocket. It's shaking. He can't be here any longer. So he says goodbye and leaves.

When he gets home, he lies on his bed and thinks about her. _Jesus Christ, oh God, oh God, oh God._ He throws the sticky shirt on the floor afterwards and decides he needs to do this more often. Needs to imagine Julie with him in person, stroking his dick like there's no tomorrow. He falls asleep with a content smile on his face. He's gonna make it happen.

**Day Two – Drive-by**

The chemistry test was a killer, and Matt doesn't even realize Julie bumping into him the hallway soon after.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she says. She laughs, because it's so full of shit. She saw him walk out of the classroom and decided to bump into him on purpose. Hopefully Matt doesn't realize it. Julie knows he doesn't because they just stare at each other for a short while, neither really knowing what to say to the other.

"Hey... Julie." He pauses, taking in every fluid curve of her body, every curl of her hair."You wanna… I don't know… go out for... for food later?" Matt blurts out. He doesn't regret saying it either. She says yes and walks away to her next class.

Lois notices something is different at lunch when she catches Matt a few tables away with the rest of the guys just staring at Julie.

"You know Matt is staring at us right?"

"He probably just has something in his eye. But he does look cute today, doesn't he?" Julie gets the biggest smirk on her face. Lois feels sick.

That night, Julie meets Matt at Applebee's, wearing the tightest shirt and jeans she could find. Matt doesn't move much while they're eating, doesn't really say much either, she notices. Probably because of the massive hard-on he's got under the table. She doesn't even need to look to know it's there. The whole thing makes her laugh. He's just so nervous and sexually frustrated around her. Once he opens his mouth he stutters to get words out, and they laugh because it's just like old times.

He covers his midsection on the way out and they slowly get in his car. She looks at him as he begins to drive away.

"So, that was fun."

"Yeah, it was. I had a good time. Sorry about that guy coming up and trying to talk to me about the game on Friday."

"No, it's okay. At least he didn't kidnap you or something."

They both laugh; remembering their date night at Applebee's almost a year ago, when their date was cut short, not only when Matt was asked to talk to Slamming Sammy but when Tim and the guys kidnapped him as they left the restaurant. Julie hears Matt moan in pain a little as he moves his legs around. She can see his hard-on pressing against his jeans, and she just has to do this.

"Can I?" she says.

He pulls the car over because it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what she's asking for. Julie moves ever-so slightly next to him. She can see his face is red with embarrassment, yet she can taste the excitement and desire on his lips as she leans over and kisses him softly, unbuttons his jeans and gets her hand inside his shorts. It's all hot and wet and she knows he'll enjoy this. He moans a few _ohGod_'s before he comes all the way through his jeans, making it look like he got a bottle of water dumped on his crotch.

"You might want to cover that up when you're going inside the house. You don't want Grandma seeing that." She kisses his cheek and goes back to her seat. The rest of ride is in silence.

**Day Three – Give It To Me Baby**

"So what's going on with you and Julie?" Landry tries to ask Matt at school.

"What do you mean?"

"Well you went out with her last night and didn't tell me anything about it. What's going on with that?"

"Nothing. We just went out."

"Well I just wanted to make sure my best friend wasn't about to jump into the deep end of a relationship without any floaties on. I mean your hot Mexican nurse just left and there you are, out with Julie Taylor in a hot, steamy booth at Applebee's."

"Landry, that's… you're retarded."

Landry spots Julie and Tyra walking towards the two of them.

"Boys, settle down." She grabs Landry by the hand and starts walking away.

"What are you doing, I need to find out what's going with this."

"I'll tell you if you'd move your ass."

"I'm moving, I'm moving."

Tyra turns to wave goodbye to Julie before Julie turns to look at Matt.

"Hey."

"Hey... Julie." Even after the events of the night before, he's still nervous around her, as if Coach is going to jump out behind her and kick his ass.

"So, uh, you excited for the dance on – on Saturday?"

"Yeah. I'm getting there. Who are you going with?"

Matt shrugs. This is so awkward. "Liz. She's in my art class. Neither of us had dates so – so I just asked her. Who are you going with?"

"Oh, um, Chris. You know, we have newspaper together. He's pretty cool."

"You're not …"

"Oh, no. No. Not after what happened last night."

They both began laughing. And they can feel the heat rising between them. The bell rings, and Matt and Julie make their way to their next class.

"So, I'll see you later?" Julie asks.

"Yeah. Bye Jules." Matt starts walking away before Julie grabs him by the arm. Brings him closer. He just wants to run his hands all over her.

"By the way" – she tugs on his shirt so she can whisper in his ear – "you owe me." She smiles, and turns away, leaving a grinning QB1 in her wake.

Matt has a hard time trying to pay attention in class. It gets worse when he finds Julie sitting on the couch when he comes home from work.

They don't say much to each other. He takes her by the hand into his bedroom and sticks a hand down her jeans. Her clit is so soft and wet, and _Jesus Christ_. Julie grabs his hand and helps him go in, moving his fingers around in circles. He covers his face with his other hand because this feeling makes him wanna scream. Julie's making all these sounds too, and Matt's not sure if she's doing it on purpose to drive him even crazier, but what they have between them isn't normal. He wants to talk about it, but she leaves once she's finished.

Maybe tomorrow.

**Day Four – Let's Talk About This**

Matt ignores Julie during the day at school. He isn't going to talk to her unless he has a game plan detailing how he wants to approach their feelings for each other. By the time she shows up later at work, he has an idea in mind.

They say hello to each other before Matt asks if they can talk.

"I know this might sound – sound weird and all, but – what's going on with us?"

"I don't know. You tell me. You were the one who wanted us to have dinner, you were the one with the massive hard-on while we were eating, and you didn't care that I got rid of it for you. So you tell me Matt, what's going on?"

"Well, it's just – I miss you. And I wanna be around you again. I wanna try and make this work."

"I – I do too. But you seem reluctant. Like you don't want to make a mistake or something."

Matt takes his hat off and runs his hand over his face. She does have a point. And he doesn't know why he's not coming out and showing her that he wants her back. But he's trying his hardest. Because no, he doesn't want to make a mistake. Not with this. Not with Julie.

He grabs her by the hand.

"I just don't wanna do it the wrong way. Screw everything up again."

Julie looks down and smiles.

"Well, you better hurry up, Mr. Saracen, before someone else comes along." She teases as she plays with his fingers.

"And who might that be... Brett Weston?" he says back like he's some big tough guy.

She laughs out loud. "Well, I never thought of that. I do hear he's single. He's a pretty cute guy too. Although, not as cute as you."

She laughs some more and pinches his thumb. It makes him just wants to kiss her senseless, but it's getting busy in the restaurant and they have to stop. But they'll be more of everything later.

Julie gives Matt a hug before heading for the door. But there's a burning question on her mind and she needs to know the answer. She turns to look at Matt.

"Do you still –"

Matt quickly nods his head yes, like he knew she would ask him.

Julie sits in her mom's car and cries for joy.

**Day Five – Does This Look Familiar To You?**

It's the second playoff game. Julie's never heard of this team before, and couldn't give two shits who they were either. She just wants her dad and Matt to win.

Which they do. Easily. They kill the other team without even trying. Julie rushes the field when it's over. Matt spots her and smiles. She can see him move his lips, but can't really hear what he's saying because she grabs him by his ears and kisses him. She keeps it short and sweet, smiling as she lets go and walks away. If this isn't the right way of doing things, then she doesn't know what is.

Matt just hopes that what he feels is sweat around his crotch and not something else.

**Day Six – Shake Your Groove Thing**

They're all at the dance, looking good, feeling fine, and just having a good old time.

Matt doesn't spot Julie until the first slow dance with Liz. She's a nice girl, and has been a nice date so far, but he's not going there. He'll kiss her hand after the dance like a gentleman and say thank you before they go their separate ways. He wants Julie, not Liz, and maybe after tonight they can finally get back on track. Julie's got a new hair style too. She must have gotten it cut because he's never seen it like that before. And her teal dress sparkles in the light. She's never looked as gorgeous as she does now, and he wishes it could be him dancing with her instead of Chris. Matt doesn't even know Chris that well, but he hears from some of the guys that he's a grade-A douche bag. It makes him sick that he's running his hands all over his girl. Matt just hopes Chris knows he can have his neck snapped like a twig if he makes one wrong move.

Julie gives Chris a hug and thanks him for being her date. And that's all she's giving him. He might think he's getting laid, but he better keep dreaming, because it's not happening. Julie spots Matt a few feet away staring at her. There's this glint in his eyes. Julie can feel her stomach curl. Suddenly, she feels sweat pouring out of her. The room feels like it's closing in, the music is getting louder, Chris is moving his hand towards her ass, and Matt won't stop staring. This can't wait any longer.

She lets go of Chris and tells him she'll be right back. Matt tells Liz the same and follows Julie. And sees her walk into an empty classroom.

"Julie, are – are you okay?" he asks, as he fixes his tie, trying to look as calm as possible. Except every part of his body is throbbing. After that kiss last night he wants more. He wants everything Julie Taylor can possibly give him, and while he wants to take it slow, he can't wait any longer. So without even listening to her response, he grabs her by the cheeks and kisses her. Her lips feel so soft against his, and _oh God_, this is what he's wanted for so long and he just can't hold it in.

"Let's go," he begs.

"Go where?"

"My house."

He grabs her by the hand, and leads her back into the gym so they can grab their stuff. They leave not a second after, Matt speeding toward his house like a maniac, his hard-on damn near ripping the dress pants he's wearing.

As soon as they get into Matt's bedroom, he has her on the bed, sucking her neck, and she unbuttons his dress shirt and rips off his tie. She wants him so badly, she wants _this_ so badly it makes her want to scream. And she knows this is awkward and so lame, losing her virginity on the night of a formal school dance, and she can feel her heart beating a million times a minute, but it just feels right. Things are different now. And she knows right here, right now, she's making the right decision.

She gets off the bed, lets him unzip and take off her dress, letting it slowly fall from her chest, her hips and thighs. She kisses him some more as she removes his t-shirt, and unbuttons his pants. He falls back on top of her, takes her bra off, sucks on her nipple, moans her name. Her fingers trace against the lines of his pectoral muscles and slowly move towards his abs and the waist band of his boxers, as she brings them down to his knees. The slow movement makes his leg twitch.

"Julie... please..."

She nods her head as Matt simultaneously takes her panties off and reaches for a condom. Quickly putting it on before he turns back and looks at her. She looks so beautiful, sprawled on the covers, opening herself to him. And he's never, never wanted her more than he does now. And he's never ever felt as scared about this as he does right now either. And he feels like such a fucking idiot for letting her go, not giving her another chance. But right here and now, none of that matters anymore.

"Is this your –"

"Yeah."

He lays himself on her, and kisses her passionately.

"I love you. I love you so much."

And he goes in as slowly as possible, not to hurt her. It's tight and hot and wet and _shit shit shit._ _Fuck Carlotta_. She never made him feel like this before. Maybe it's because he knows he truly loves Julie. Knows he's never felt this way about anyone EVER, and he just wants to be with her. Love her, protect her, hold her close and never let go.

She softly moans his name, and brings his hips closer, up and down and up and down. _Julie oh God, oh my God, Julie_. Faster and harder. Almost there, almost there. He's letting it all out, and it brings her pain and pleasure and total happiness all in one that it makes her cry a little.

He grabs a hold of her thigh and comes as her gasps for air bring a smile to his face. He withdraws and takes the condom off before lying down next to her, wrapping his arm around her back.

They don't say anything for a while, just lie there, and let every feeling, every word spoken, and every action made sink in.

"I could lie here with you… like this… every night." He says, kissing her forehead.

She lies on his chest and kisses him. She brings the biggest smile to his face. Always has, always will.

"You know, we got an hour before the after party starts. People are going to begin to wonder where we are if we don't show up." She raises her eyebrows at him, and he knows exactly what she's talking about and laughs.

"I love you. So much."

He kisses her again, as his hand goes to grab another condom.

--

They show up at the after-party an hour later, hand-in-hand, wearing nothing but old Panther tee-shirts and sweatpants.

Smash spots Matt walking towards the bar.

"Matty! I was wondering where you went, I didn't know you were gonna get –"

He's cut off when he sees Julie next to Matt. He's got this whole thing figured out. His plan actually worked. He can't believe it. He begins clapping and pointing at both of them, not saying one word.

Matt and Julie just stare at each other and laugh.


End file.
